Mary, Mary - where are all the women gone?

Hard to believe it but Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the election of Ireland’s first female President Mary Robinson.

And as Labour Women marked the anniversary, they said it was time for Irish women to once again ‘rock the system’.

“In Ireland, the prevailing macho political culture has contributed to a system in which squandered gains have given way to savage cuts,” said Labour Women Chair Katherine Dunne.

“Women are no worse or better than men when it comes to making difficult but fair decisions about how to run the country. But what is better is a balanced team that represents all the people equally.”

“As 50% of the population, women are sorely underrepresented as only 13% of TDs are women. Urgent measures are required to rectify this imbalance.”

Labour Women has called on the political parties who will make up the next government to implement recommended measures such as legislation for gender balance amongst Dáil candidates.

“Mary Robinson was, and still is, an inspiration to women in Ireland. She gave us hope to believe that true equality is within our grasp. Only when women take their full place at the decision-making table will we be able to achieve the true equality that Mary Robinson made us believe was possible,” said Katherine Dunne.