Louise Glennon: Make YOUR vote a vote for Equality
Published: Thursday, May 22, 2014
Today, we go to the polls, to elect those we want to represent us in the European Parliament and on the Local County Councils.
2,040 candidates are seeking election on Friday. Just 441 of them are women. That means that 21.6 per cent of the candidates that the electorate have to choose from are women.
The issue of gender and the number of women running for election, or not running as is the case, has received substantial levels of media and blog coverage since the selection conventions began, and the column inches and airtime have increased as the election date nears.
This interest has undoubtedly been prompted by the introduction of legal gender quotas in the next General Election, not to mention the campaigning work being done by our members, 5050, Women for Election and Longford Women’s Link. The gender quotas law requires that parties ensure that at least 30 per cent of their candidates are women. This will rise to 40 per cent seven years later. If parties do not reach the quota, they will incur a financial penalty.
The quota does not apply to these elections. Yet close scrutiny is still being paid to the number of women that are running, as parties tend to use local elections as a ‘training ground’ for potential candidates for the next General Election, whenever that may be.
As part of our work on the elections, NWCI produced the Women Rising manifesto, and held meetings with our members and the candidates running in Dublin, Cork and in Cavan. The meetings were highly participative. Our members did the talking, and discussed their first hand experiences of the issues outlined in the Women Rising Manifesto.
Stories of violence against women - friends and loved ones - the absence of refuges, women’s lack of economic independence, pensions, unemployment, the gender pay gap, reproductive rights, access to GP’s and pharmacists, inclusive communities, rural isolation, and the provision of local services, such as transport and housing, were just some of the issues raised by the largely, but not solely female group in attendance.
Most if not all of these issues were all linked back to the absence of women in decision making, and a firm belief that if women were more involved in making the decisions at local, national and European level, the impact of the issues being discussed and lived on a daily basis would not be as severe. This belief is supported by research carried out by our member, Women for Election, who found that almost 7 in 10, (69%) of 1,001 people surveyed, believe their local council would make better decisions if there were more women councillors.
Men leave the Live Register four times faster than women. Employment for women under 35 is falling, even as overall employment improves. The majority of emigrants under 25 are women. We are constantly told that Ireland is on the road to recovery. If this is true, women need to have a say in the direction Ireland’s recovery is to take. The media debate is centred around tax cuts and pay rises, but what we need is services to be restored to sustainable levels- domestic and sexual violence services, housing services, disability services. If we are to see a real recovery, we must see more women at the table.
With 1, 599 men running for election, and just 441 women, the chances of positive change are better than the 2007 elections when just 314 women ran. The numbers are increasing, but we have not yet come close to reaching the quota. We hope that Friday’s election will be a triumphant day for the woman who have proudly put themselves forward to represent their ward’s and constituencies. We also hope that the elections will prove a triumph for the women and men who recognise and support the important and often invisible contribution made by women all over Ireland.