Speech of President Higgins on the Occasion of the Opening of the New Offices of the National Women’

Published: Thursday, March 08, 2012

Dia dhaoibh a chairde inniu. Tá an-áthas orm bheith libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo.

It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the double celebration of International Women's Day and the opening of these lovely new offices for the National Women's Council of Ireland. Thank you in particular to Orla O'Connor, Acting Director of the NWCI and Chairperson Clare Treacy for the kind invitation to share in this great day of celebration. I hope these new premises serve you well in the future and provide for you the right kind of space for lively debate, reflection, critical thinking, preparation for advocacy and action.

Last year, the centenary of International Women's Day was celebrated across the globe. During that century the achievements of women have been significant but uneven, across society at home and abroad. Yes, we have seen women move from a life which afforded them few opportunities for advancement in their careers, or in decision-making roles, to a life where two inspirational women held the role of President of our wonderful country, for over 20 years. Young women too - on leaving school now can aspire to the choice of following a huge variety of career paths, leading them to the top in areas previously regarded as the exclusive domain of men.

However, there are no reasons to be complacent. When we consider women's rights across a wide range of domains, including economic, political, social and cultural it is clear that there are still very tangible barriers to women's success and equality in many fields. We must, I suggest, also always remember and recall all those pioneers who had to struggle, to place those equality issues which form so much of what has been gained, and they often struggled against virulent opposition but they placed equality issues on the agenda.

Even too there is clear evidence that women in Ireland are at greater risk of poverty than men and that this poverty among women is growing. Consistent poverty levels increased from 4.25% to 5.5% between 2008 and 2009 (Source: The Central Statistics Office Survey of Income and Living Conditions); we know too that 98% of lone parents are women and that 63% of individuals from lone parent households are deprived of one or more basic items compared with 29% of all households deprived of one or more of these basic items across the country. Women disproportionately carry the burden of poverty.

Women in the workplace continue to face still extraordinary, and entirely unacceptable, levels of discrimination as evidenced by the fact that after so many years of action on women's equality, gender, along with disability accounted for the largest numbers of cases taken under the Employment Equality Act according to the Equality Authority's 2010 annual report.

We also need to recognise the completely unacceptable levels of gender based violence that continue in our society, denying women their most fundamental and basic human rights of bodily integrity, dignity and freedom from violence. The National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence reports on a 2005 study. The study was undertaken to give an overview of the nature, extent and impact of domestic abuse against women and men in intimate partner relationships. It is based on a nationally representative statistical sample of 3,077 randomly selected adult women and men in Ireland. The findings were shocking, and they are important for us to acknowledge, 15 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men have experienced severely abusive behaviour from a partner. The study also suggested that in the region of 213,000 women and 88,000 men in Ireland have been severely abused by a partner at some point in their lives. Of those severely abused, less than one quarter reported the matter to An Garda Síochána and one third have never told anybody at all.

These abuses which must be accepted as violations of human rights are so often suffered in silence, due to fear that the victims will not be believed or taken seriously and compounded by a belief that reporting the crime will make their situation worse. When lack of confidence, lack of self esteem are added to the mix of fear and uncertainty, given these circumstances the lack of reporting is perhaps easier understood if nonetheless a shocking and sad indictment on our society.

But today is a day to acknowledge and celebrate all those who have fought for women's equality, and worked to combat those power differentials which have been so prevalent within our culture, religions, economy and society at large that allow and perpetuate women's oppression.

Founded in 1973 as the Council for the Status of Women, the National Women's Council of Ireland has played a central role in raising consciousness and combating oppression of women's rights since its establishment. In its vital work supporting women's organisations across the country, the NWCI has reached out to women from all walks of life, affording them the opportunity to share ideas and feed those ideas to the central policy-making process. Many of the NWCI's initiatives have brought change to legislation, change to policies and change for the better to the lives of our women and for that I salute you and congratulate you.

The contribution of women to the development of the Irish State and its economy cannot be overstated. We have seen a very significant increase in the numbers of women in the workforce and the advancement of some women into very senior positions, including in many non-traditional sectors. This has of course been achieved, as I have suggested, thanks to the efforts of those who fought for gender equality in the 1960s and to those who enacted the new legislation that brought an end to the marriage bar and ensured that women could take their rightful positions as men's equals in the workplace. The contribution of Irish women in rural Ireland has been of immense significance too and perhaps insufficiently recognised, despite the excellent work of representative organisations over the years.

Young people will find it incredible that only 40 years ago, pay scales were often differentiated by gender or by marital status; that senior positions were not open to women applicants; and that in many instances women had to give up their jobs when they married.

Thanks to the efforts of so many of the early members of the Council on the Status of Women, and of course to Ireland's membership of the European Union, those particular discriminations against women are of historic interest.

Happily, we now have one of the best educated female populations in Europe but there are still barriers to the achievement of de facto gender equality. We need to work to break down those barriers which are largely attitudinal, in order to ensure that women can lead fulfilling lives, contributing as they would wish, and not just as men would wish, to all aspects of life in Ireland. I know that the NWCI continues to highlight these issues and works tirelessly to foster the advancement of women into all roles in Irish economic, political and social life.

The low level of representation of women in our political world is a particular concern to me. I have spoken recently of the attributes that women generally bring to the work place: a highly evolved set of interpersonal and problem solving skills come to mind immediately, and those are skills critically required among our public representatives. I congratulate the NWCI on your work and collaborations with other groups to ensure that women in ever greater numbers take their rightful place in our parliament.

I also want to commend the commitment of the NWCI for their work in engaging with older women, women who have moved to Ireland as migrants, women from the Traveller community, those with disabilities, women in remote rural areas, women experiencing economic deprivation. Every woman has a contribution to make to the betterment of our country and their participation in local women's groups can assist with both local development and the advancement of women.

This is, of course, the European Year of Active Ageing. I believe that our present older population have endless opportunities to enjoy fruitful lives and many chances that were not open to our parents and grandparents. Women in particular are availing of the opportunity to return to the labour market, even after a very long break. The number of women aged 55 to 64 in employment increased from 48,000 in 2001 to 98,000 in 2011.

I understand that this is one of the highest growth levels across the EU. While it helps women to attain economic independence as well as contributing to economic growth and sharing the tax burden, we should also never forget the distinction between a voluntary choice and an involuntary pressure from the absence of income for the necessities of life. Retired women too at home and in caring institutions are taking the opportunity to pursue creative outlets closed to them during lives of endless pressure on their time and energies.

Many women are playing an important role by supporting family members through the provision of childcare services for grandchildren. The close relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is a great source of happiness to families as well as a source of informal education for children who hear about the life experiences of the older age group and the changes which the older among us have experienced over our lifetimes. Children and grandchildren are also, in many ways, sharing technology not only with those related to them but with many elderly people and thus they are strengthening their links to life.

These important roles played by older people make it all the more difficult to understand why our society occasionally still shows evidence of ageist attitudes.

I hope that my Presidency will facilitate discussion on the contribution that older men and women can continue to make to our society. I know too that young people are anxious to respect and harness the knowledge and wisdom which has been built up over the lifetimes of their elders. I hope too that all negative stereotypes will be dispelled and replaced by inclusiveness so that old and young can share in all aspects of life, be it employment, voluntary work, caring, policy making, and leisure activity.

International Women's Day is celebrated all over the globe and at the United Nations in New York it is celebrated as part of the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women. This year the theme of the meeting of the Commission is the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication. We cannot let International Women's Day pass without calling to mind the stark reality and challenges facing our sisters in the global south.

According to the World Health Organisation:

"The maternal mortality ratio in developing countries is 290 per 100,000 births versus 14 per 100,000 in developed countries. There are large disparities between countries, with some countries having extremely high maternal mortality ratios of 1,000 or more per 100,000 live births. There are also large disparities within countries, between people with high and low income and between people living in rural and urban areas.

Women in developing countries have on average many more pregnancies than women in developed countries, and their lifetime risk of death due to pregnancy is higher. A woman's lifetime risk of maternal death - the probability that a 15-year-old woman will eventually die from a maternal cause - is 1 in 4,300 in developed countries, versus 1 in 120 in developing countries."

This appalling situation must be made to end, and it will only end when we replace an extremely materialistic but also exploitative model of globalisation with a human rights based approach to development - an approach which ensures that citizen's rights to basic health care, clean water, education and housing are secure. The solidarity and partnership between women's groups in the north and south of our shared vulnerable planet is one important element in the solution. I know that a number of member organisations of the NWCI play a role in the development work supported by Irish Aid.

Irish Aid, of course, is a key player on the world stage in the fight against hunger. In highlighting this today, I would like to pay tribute to the many women and men who work on development projects in Irish Aid's Programme countries and would encourage all of you to continue to transfer knowledge from Ireland to the corners of the globe where life is more challenging, particularly for women and to do so with a respect for the cultural integrity of receiving cultures.

Innovation and creativity are two themes which I mentioned in my inaugural address, scarcely four months ago and I have returned to these themes as I have met groups since that morning in Dublin Castle. I spoke on that occasion of the need to establish a confident people. The building of confidence among women is a key focus of the National Women's Council and I urge you to continue this work both centrally and working with groups which are members of the NWCI.

We must believe in ourselves and in our capacity to adapt to the challenges we face in order to ensure that our country again becomes a heartland with a truly inclusive society. What is needed is a return to questioning the recently accepted inevitabilities by which we have come to live, recovering values too easily discarded, and imagining an ethical life capable of delivery. The choice is clear: to pursue a citizenship within a truly democratic agenda, socially inclusive, politically accountable, with an economy viewed as instrumental, or on the other hand a populist consumerism where rights are defined by purchasing power. If we believe in a democratic citizenship recast, we must stand for the right of every citizen to participate in society with the opportunity to develop their personal and social selves in conditions of freedom, communal solidarity, justice and equality.

We are facing challenging times in our country. I hope that we can continue to work together, men and women, to exploit our strengths and overcome our weaknesses as we build a new and better Ireland, an Ireland where women and men share responsibilities, share decision-making and share our future successes in a manner which is inclusive and outward-reaching.

The National Women's Council of Ireland has played an important role in fostering the development of women for nearly forty years. I know that it still has many challenges to address but I am confident that the Board and staff will continue their vital work on behalf of the women of Ireland for the betterment of all in our great country.

Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Click here to read Acting CEO of the NWCI Orla O'Connor's speech on IWD....

Click here to read the history of International Women's Day and NWCI statistics about the day.....