This is so encouraging – a turning point for Irish politics – says Minister of State Kathleen Lynch
Minister of State Kathleen Lynch T.D. said she was overwhelmed and delighted with the response to the conference “How to Elect More Women?” which she is hosting today (Friday 20
th January, 2012) in Dublin Castle.
Such has been the level of interest that we had to ask the team at Dublin Castle to make a second room available to facilitate a further 50 participants. This is so encouraging. I believe we are at a turning point for politics in Ireland.'
Although not initially planned to coincide with the publication of Minister Phil Hogan T.D.’s new Bill proposing the introduction of candidate quotas, this is a beneficial link and enables everyone to participate in a timely and forward thinking debate. Pointing out that the Conference presented an opportunity for all sides to address this issue the Minister continued by stating that
'The political parties must recognise and harness this enthusiasm. I believe that the women who have travelled to Dublin today have a huge contribution to make to the future of our country.'All the main political parties are actively involved in the Conference and have been afforded an opportunity to publicise their political policies on a one to one basis. The Minister noted that
'The cross-Party commitment to this event suggests that there is a real buy in at political level to the process of change. Parties now need to identify their potential women candidates to ensure that each Party optimises its gender mix in the next Dáil.'
The one-day conference, supported by the European Social Fund, will be opened by the Taoiseach, who will be welcomed by Justice, Equality and Defence Minister, Alan Shatter T.D., Tánaiste and Labour Party Leader, Eamon Gilmore and Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin will share a platform with representatives of the other parties on the topic of Leading Change in the afternoon.
The Conference will also draw on the experiences of a number of keynote overseas speakers and serving Irish politicians.
20 January 2012
ENDS Notes for Editors (Conference Concept Note) attached.
NOTES FOR EDITORS“HOW TO ELECT MORE WOMEN?”CONFERENCE CONCEPT NOTE PREPARED BY GENDER EQUALITY DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
INTRODUCTION More than ninety years after women in Ireland won the vote; only 15 per cent of our Dáil Deputies are women.
International bodies such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union note that true democracy requires that parliaments should have gender balance. As a signatory of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women,(CEDAW), Ireland has committed
“to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right:(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies;b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; …”The Oireachtas used its cross-Party Committee structure to explore the reasons for poor female membership in the Irish Parliament in 2009 and 2010 and published two reports which identified the barriers and made recommendations to overcome them. (See section on Challenges and Appendix for further information.
Former Green Party Minister for Equality, Ms. Mary White, opened a constructive dialogue on women’s representation in Irish politics with the political parties during 2010. Current Minister of State for Equality, Ms. Kathleen Lynch T.D. has built upon this work, including through this Conference.
PROPOSED NEW LEGISLATIONThe new legislative measures being proposed by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 provide, inter alia, that political parties will face a cut of half their State funding received under the Electoral Act 1997 if they do not have at least 30% women and 30% men candidates at the next general election. Seven years from the general election where this provision first applies, this will rise to 40% commencing at the general election held next after that. There will therefore be a minimum of 7 years between the 30% and the 40% provision applying.
The Explanatory Memorandum which accompanies the draft legislation clarifies the intentions of the proposals as follows:
·
“Section 27 amends section 17 of the Electoral Act 1997 to provide that unless at least 30% of the candidates of each political party at the previous general election were women and at least 30% were men, then payments from the State to the political party concerned under Part 3 of the Electoral Act 1997 would be reduced by 50%. Seven years from the general election where this provision first applies, this will rise to 40% commencing at the general election held next after that. There will therefore be a minimum of 7 years between the 30% and the 40% provision applying.·
Section 28 amends section 46 of the Electoral Act 1992 to enable the gender of a candidate to appear on a nomination paper. The Returning Officer will in turn provide this information to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under section 127 of the Electoral Act 1992.·
Section 29 amends section 127 of the Electoral Act 1992 to facilitate the provision of information to the Minister on the number of candidates of each gender that have contested a general election. This is to enable a determination to be made on the amount of funding to be paid to each ‘‘qualified party’’ that is to receive State funding under Part 3 of the Act of 1997.”
THE CHALLENGEIreland’s commitment under CEDAW and this new draft legislation present a challenge at a number of levels. The Report of the Sub-Committee of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence on Women’s Affairs noted in its 2009 Report that
“International research shows that the same or similar challenges face women in to entry into politics throughout the world, summarised as follows:·
Childcare– women are more likely to have this responsibility·
Cash– women have less access to resources than men·
Confidence– women are less likely to go forward for selection·
Culture– a gendered culture is prevalent even within left-wing parties·
Candidate selection procedures– the processes by which political parties select candidates has been identified as posing a significant obstacle to women’s political participation”The Oireachtas Sub-Committee then made some
specific recommendations in relation to each of these barriers and these are appended to this concept note.
THIS CONFERENCEThis Conference is envisaged as a
forward looking and positive opportunity for an open dialogue across party lines about the steps that must be taken to ensure that greater numbers of women are elected to political office in Ireland. The first step in this regard is nomination as an electoral candidate.
The Conference will promote discussion on the changes needed if political parties are to fully embrace the need for greater equality in political life. This change is being fostered by Government policy to link candidate selection to Exchequer support for political parties. As a result, political parties will be required to identify and foster good women candidates to contest and win seats at the next general election.
If these changes are to be achieved and if the political parties are to achieve their candidate quotas, it is also essential that suitably qualified women recognise the important role which they can play in formulating a new Ireland through their engagement as political activists and in electoral office at local, national and international levels.
Male political activists must also recognise that the time has come for a greater sharing of political decision-making as men and women work together to address the challenges of our time.
This Conference is bringing together
women already active in political life, women who may have an interest in greater involvement in political life and international and national experts including academics, politicians, political activists, party administrators and party leaders.
The conference will explore the issue of women’s increased involvement in Irish political life.
Mr. Alan Shatter T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence will introduce the
Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, T.D. who will open the Conference, which will be facilitated by
renowned political broadcaster and journalist, Ms. Olivia O’Leary.
We are welcoming three international speakers
·
Mme Dr Nicole Ameline, Member of the Assemblée Nationale (France), former Minister for Gender Equality and Vice Chair of the UN CEDAW Committee·
Ms. Ajla Van Heel of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCEand ·
Ms Nan Sloane founder of the Centre for Women and Democracy in the UKwho have agreed to share their views.
The conference will be structured under four themed sessions:
·
Why Do We Need More Women in Politics and How Do We Get There?·
My Story and My Views: Personal Experiences of a Number of Female Politicians·
A View from the Top: the view of senior political party managers·
Leading Change: the views of our political leadersRecommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Sub-Committeeon theBarriers to Female Participation in PoliticsReport published by Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Affairs: OCT 2009
ChildcareThe “long hours” culture in politics, and the lack of accommodation for childcare and other caring responsibilities, are factors which discourage women in particular from being more politically active.It is recommended that changes to political party processes and Council/Oireachtas sitting times and arrangements are necessary to ensure that childcare and other family caring responsibilities can be accommodated, both for men and women in politics.In particular:·
Political party meeting times and venues should be reviewed and adjusted to accommodate the caring responsibilities of party members;·
Childcare supports should be provided for parents in politics, and the Oireachtas creche maintained;·
Although statutory maternity leave is not available to women members of the Oireachtas since they are not employees, women TDs and Senators who give birth should be entitled to automatic pairing arrangements;·
Increased use should be made of videoconferencing and distance voting facilities to ensure that those with caring responsibilities may participate in Committees for example from home.CashLack of resources is another major factor inhibiting women’s progress in politics. There is cross-party support for the introduction of mechanisms to provide greater resources to support women’s political activity, and it is recommended that the following measures, in particular, should be introduced:·
The establishment of a national fundraising campaign dedicated to raising money from private donors to finance women’s electoral campaigns;·
State funding to be earmarked for women candidates until a certain target of representation is reached;·
The voluntary provision of additional funds by political parties to support women candidates.ConfidenceWomen tend to lack sufficient confidence to participate actively in political life generally and to put themselves forward for selection in political parties.It is recommended that positive steps should be taken to encourage more women to become active in political parties, and to put themselves forward as candidates, in particular:·
Political parties should be encouraged to introduce recruitment drives specifically aimed at women, seeking to identify, “head-hunt” and recruit women in local areas, both as party members and potential candidates;·
Mentoring programmes for new women members and aspiring women candidates should be introduced within the political parties;·
Leadership training programmes should be provided for aspiring candidates by political parties;·
The State should provide support for women’s political networks such as the former network “Club 84” or the Women’s Political Association at local, national and European level.CultureAlthough women no longer face overt discrimination in their entry to politics, the political culture itself, and the “overall masculine image of politics”, remain as powerful barriers for women’s increased participation in politics.It is recommended that specific steps be taken to address ongoing cultural barriers for women, in particular:·
The education system should be used to encourage more women into politics through civic education programmes in secondary schools, for example;·
Female role models should be identified and used in school and voter education programmes, to change the stereotypical image of the “male politician”;·
To challenge the cultural barrier for women entering politics whereby childcare is always seen as a woman’s responsibility, the issue of fathers’ rights and paternity leave in society more broadly should be reviewed;·
An advertising campaign like that initiated in Iceland should be considered with the participation of politicians from all parties, again aimed at challenging traditional stereotypes of male politicians;·
A national data bank of potential women candidates should be established, administered either by the State, or a national NGO like the NWCI, on a constituency by constituency basis.Candidate Selection ProceduresAll the recommendations above are important to encourage greater participation by women in politics, but a difficulty still remains for women in getting selected as candidates by political parties at local, national and European level.Different models for reform of candidate selection procedures have been reviewed.The model of reserving seats for women in parliament is not used in European countries, and might be problematic under EU gender equality laws.Although the voluntary political party quotas have been effective in some countries, notably Sweden, they require strong commitment by individual political parties, and generally take many years before results may be seen.Experience elsewhere in Europe, especially in Belgium and Spain, shows that legislative electoral quotas might be more effective in the Irish political system.Thus, it is recommended that candidate quota legislation be adopted, modelled on that used in France, Belgium and Spain, to oblige each political party to impose a maximum limit on the proportion of candidates of any one gender selected to run in elections at local, national and European levels.Such legislation should be introduced on a temporary basis only, and would have an inbuilt “sunset clause” to ensure that when targets are met, the law will lapse.
The legislation should provide initially, based on the original Belgian model, that no party could have more than two-thirds of their candidates of one gender in the next general election.The proportion of women required could then be revised upwards for candidate selection procedures in the 2014 local elections.Although there is no equivalent of a list system in Ireland, and no electoral commission to accept or reject candidate lists as in Belgium, a system of financial penalties should be imposed based on the French model, so that parties that do not achieve the target of at least 33.3% women candidates for the next general election, for example, would receive reduced levels of state funding as a result.Clearly, such
legislation would require support from all the political parties to ensure that it would be effective. But it is also clear that there is widespread concern about the low levels of women in Irish politics.Unless effective positive action measures are adopted, Ireland will continue to languish at the bottom of the international league tables for women’s representation, and our democracy will remain “unfinished”.