See Her Elected has joined calls for the implementation of statutory gender quotas of 40% for local elections, as part of a new Gender Quotas Alliance which was launched this week in Dáil Eireann.
The Alliance, is demanding 40% gender quotas for local election candidates as a key measure to address gender inequality in the next programme for government.
The group is dedicated to addressing the imbalance of representation of women at all levels of politics and wants to keep this critical issue front and centre as the General Election approaches.
Led by the National Women’s Council (NWC), the Alliance brings together leading academics, and advocates for Traveller, migrant, and disabled women, all united in their call for fairer political representation.
Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager with See Her Elected said: “As members of the Alliance, we are calling for the implementation of statutory gender quotas of 40% for local elections; commitment to the introduction of mechanisms to ensure the adequate representation of minority groups; increased funding for political parties, councils, and NGOs; and proper resourcing for engagement, capacity building, and training.”
The Alliance heard that the pace of change was too slow, and it would be 2049 or take five more local election cycles to reach 40% female representation at local government level.
“Only 26% of county council seats are filled by women. The fact is gender quotas work! When quotas were brought in for the 2016 Dáil elections, the number of women elected rose from 16% in 2011 to 22% in 2016. Since the law’s adoption, women’s representation in Dáil Éireann has increased by 48%.
If gender quotas have worked at the national level, they can support more women at the local level too,” said Dr Maher.
The Programme Manager for See Her Elected also said that she would like to see more power devolved to county councillors and she also pointed out that the pay should reflect the level of work involved in the role of a councillor and this may make it a more attractive job for women.
Dr Maher also highlighted the fact that political parties now had a “golden opportunity” to co-opt more women into vacated council seats after the General Election saying: “Don’t replace middle-aged white men with more middle-aged white men- look at your membership now and if you don’t have any women, including those from minority groups in your party, ask yourself why not?”
You can access a digital copy of the report here: https://www.nwci.ie/learn/publication/alliance_for_gender_quotas_at_local_level_position_paper
