Column: For a new politics, we need more women in the Dáil

Published: Monday, August 08, 2011

Fine Gael deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor was recently caught up in a Dáil row after being the subject of sexist remarks by Independent TD Mick Wallace. Writing for TheJournal.ie, she argues that a better balance of the sexes is necessary if our political culture is ever to change.

THIS YEAR MARKS the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the Women's Political Association in Ireland. It was founded as part of a general move towards women's liberation in the seventies, but with the specific aim of encouraging women into political life and party politics.

So, forty years on, how are we doing? There is no doubt that we have come a long way. In 1971 there were only three TDs in Dáil Éireann. We have certainly made some strides since then. However we must look at that figure in the context of its time. The marriage bar was not removed until 1973. Women were not actively encouraged into the workplace. Nor were we matching our male counterparts in the typical male dominated fields in academia. For example, 1972 was the year the first woman graduated from engineering in Trinity College Dublin.

Click here to read the full article from the Journal.ie.