The Women's Coalition, formed to win representation for women at the Northern Ireland peace talks, has become a "tight, middle-class circle", a conference heard at the weekend. "I am the only one who is working-class," Ms Pearl Sagar told the annual women's conference of the Union of Students in Ireland in Dublin City University.
While she had hoped the Women's Coalition would bring more working-class women into the process, "other working-class women haven't become involved." Absence of sufficient child care was one of the major barriers to women's involvement in politics and business.
"We want our children to grow up to be these wonderful people and we won't even provide for it. Part-time workers and many full-time workers don't have enough to pay for a child-minder."
Women face major barriers both in the home and out of it, according to Ms Brid Rodgers, the SDLP spokeswoman on women's issues. "Those who stay at home whether by choice or necessity, to do the important work of nurturing and caring, find that while society pays lip-service to the importance of their role, this is not reinforced with practical recognition of any sort. Invariably, in later years the hand that rocks the cradle finds itself dependent and disadvantaged.
"Those who by choice or necessity try to enter the job market must confront a huge variety of obstacles," she said. These included low pay and poor conditions. "Women still earn only three-quarters of the male average and men are twice as likely to reach management level, even in the health and education sectors, where women form the bulk of the workforce."
Thirty per cent of Fine Gael members were women, said Ms Joanne Harmon of Fine Gael. The proportion of women in senior positions in the party was higher. She also said lack of child care was a barrier. Any woman who doubted her ability, she said, had only to look around at some of the men in politics.
She related her dismay at attending a Young Unionists' conference only to find that she was the only woman in the room. "I just couldn't believe it. Afterwards the girlfriends came in and stayed for the social."