As we approach the 2024 election, Women for Election is calling for a crucial shift in Ireland’s political landscape, urging voters in Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford to support the record number of female candidates standing for election.
With a long history of gender imbalance in the Dáil, this election presents a unique opportunity to address this inequality and ensure that women’s voices are more fully represented in the decisions that shape our future.
By supporting these women candidates, Women for Election believe we can move towards a more diverse and effective political system that better reflects the needs and experiences of all citizens.
I spoke to Brian Sheehan, CEO of Women for Election and asked him what are the main barriers preventing more women from entering politics, particularly in Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford:
He said, “I suppose there’s general things that prevent a woman going into politics that we know of , I see confidence, cash, culture, childcare. And I suppose one of the biggest things is always that politics was designed by men, for men in a system designed 100 years ago. That hasn’t really figured out how it copes with a much different world now, a world that includes women in all our decision-making across everything we do every day and yet doesn’t include any in politics.”
This Election campaign sees a higher number of female candidates than ever in the Wexford and Wicklow/Wexford constituencies, with 4 in Wexford and 5 in Wicklow/Wexford – so how can we ensure a lasting shift towards gender equality in the Dáil?
“Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford together now have the largest number of women candidates running ever in any general election. So the voters in Wexford constituency and the new Wicklow-Wexford constituency do have an opportunity to think differently about the kind of Dail they want, on the kind of TDs that they want to return to represent them and their concerns and their ambitions and their hopes. And I suppose the choice for all voters is are our hopes best represented by a majority of men as there have been for most of the 100 years of the state or actually
do we need women’s voices at the decision-making tables in the door and in government? And if you take Wexford, Wexford across the 100 years that have existed, just two women have ever represented the people of Wexford, men and women at the door and it took 61 years to get the first woman there, which is Avril Doyle in the 90s, in the 80s actually, and Avril was there for about 10 years over a couple of elections and then there was another 23 years before the current TD Verona Murphy was elected. So in essence, women’s voices, women’s lived experiences, women’s concerns are entirely missing from the Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford constituency going to the door and when you think this election has crystallized around childcare, housing, the economy, the issues that affect every one of our lives and that women play such a huge part in making those decisions as a household and as a community level, it’s surprising that we haven’t come up, that we do much better if we farm our women’s voices coming from the southeast at the cabinet table and at the door.
What about those who may argue that electing more women candidates should be based on merit and not gender quotas?
“So we absolutely agree that you should elect your candidates on merit. The problem has always been that we tend to think that the people who are there already the incumbents are good at the job because they’re in the job and they have all the publicity that tells they’re good in the job. What we know is there are fantastic women who have tried over the years to get elected,
but the kind of status quo has always inhibited them. So what we’re saying is there are very many talented, capable, competent women running in the two constituencies down there and we’re asking people to research those women and actually consider voting. We’re not asking anyone to vote for a candidate because they are a woman. We are asking that you think differently about it and think about maybe this time I’ll actually consider consciously whether a woman and all of her skills and experiences and there’s lots of very good women running in the two constituencies down there would actually deserve a chance to represent me and what I believe in.”
So What impact would a more gender-balanced Dáil would have on national decision-making,
“Well, it’s a very interesting one. I watched the debate on RTE last night and there were five men and one woman discussing immigration. The previous upfront debate had five men and one woman discussing housing. My guess is that the debates would be an awful lot different if there were more women around those tables. But what we know is that politics works better when there’s a balance of men and women involved. We know that a diverse government makes better decisions, particularly on the issues that affect a broad range of decisions, the things you talk about health, housing, childcare. But we also know that a wider perspective makes the whole work better. Businesses know this. Businesses have for years spent time, energy and investment in bringing forward diverse voices, not always having men as the executives, but actually bringing forward women and people from a diverse set of backgrounds because that actually makes for stronger businesses better decision making more relevant ones. But one of the things we’ve never had is a woman Taoiseach, we’ve never had woman minister for finance and we’ve never had a woman minister for foreign affairs. My guess is if any of us think about that, our lives would be different, the decisions would be different if we had women at those kind of key decision making moments. “
Has Ireland made enough progress in terms of women’s rights and representation in politics, or is there more work to be done?
“Unfortunately Ireland doesn’t do well on women’s representation in politics. We’re actually 104th in the world for the number of women in national parliament. In the local elections, despite having a party with hard, more women running, not a single extra woman counselor while elected in terms of comparing with the outgoing numbers. And what we know is that there are women stepping up to lead us over the country. There’s 50% more women running in this general election than there was in the last chapter. So we’re not short of fantastic women capable of talented, competent women running in every single constituency. And that’s why I think voters need to think again and just say, oh, or maybe I just rethink my traditional party preference or my tradition or my voting for the incumbents just to stop and think, okay, is this actually what I want or actually should we think differently and give the strong women running in my constituency and go and see will our politics be a bit better.”
Finally I asked Brian what message he would give to our young women in Wexford and Wicklow-Wexford who might be considering a career in politics but feel discouraged by the current gender imbalance?
“So politics will change when there’s more women involved. We see fantastic women stepping up. They’re leaders in their communities, in their businesses, in farming, in community sectors,
in businesses, in shops and retail. We see women who are fantastic all over the place. The ceiling hasn’t been broken in politics, but women are stepping up over and over again to take a place in a political stage at local and national level. I would say to any women, first of all, consider voting for women to make sure that there are people who are chipping away at those glass ceilings, hopefully smashing them. And secondly, absolutely consider politics yourself. Politics is changing because people are changing and realizing that the absence of women is actually not good for politics and not good for all of us together. So for young women, first of all, contact women for election and we will help you. But don’t let that dream go. Don’t let that idea go. It’s really important that young women’s voices are in politics, and it’s really important that as voters, we see that and actually make the changes in our own voting behaviors that allows women’s voices and lived experience to be where decisions are made that matter to all our lives.”
