Increasing the number of women in political leadership leads to more diverse policies with more emphasis on social justice and feminist issues, a report published on Wednesday finds.
Titled Women who Lead and published by the National Women’s Council (NWC), the 48-page report says women’s presence in politics “matters”, particularly “as gender equality as a societal and political norm is under pressure in many contexts”.
In a statement to accompany the report, the council says: “Although still underrepresented in Irish politics, women leaders in parliament, Civil Service and civil society use strategies including alliance and coalition-building, internally, cross-party and with civil society to advance gender equality.”
The report says there is increasing evidence “that capacitating progressive women to lead in public life leads to women-friendly policies”.
READ MORE
Conducted by Pauline Cullen, professor of sociology at the centre for European studies in Maynooth University, the report draws on analyses of Oireachtas debates and committee hearings, Oireachtas library materials, legislative records, media reports and “contextualising accounts from extra-parliamentary actors involved in the specific policy areas”.
It analyses two case studies: the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment and the campaign to ensure ratification of the Istanbul convention against domestic violence and the eventual establishment of the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) agency Cuan.
Among “key insights” are that increased representation of women’s interests and voices are often due to women working together “inside and outside of parliaments” and women must have “access to power” when working in “gendered institutions”.
Looking at the case studies, Prof Cullen finds these were instances where “women leaders set agendas, frame narratives, collaborate, and network to deliver substantive representation for women”.
The successful campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, culminating in the May 2018 referendum, and the establishment of Cuan in January 2024, were “turning points” where “women leaders’ presence translated into acts that shifted the dial to deliver an outcome reflecting broader societal and feminist aims”, says Prof Cullen.
Women leaders acted as “amplifiers and accelerants” on reproductive rights and on the issue of DSGBV to “unstick and progress” women’s interests. They were “agents of change who work to advance policy in the context of ‘agents of inertia’ that have acted as a ‘drag’ on advancing gender equality policies”, says Prof Cullen.
Doireann Crosson, NWC head of policy, said: “The progress on reproductive rights and the fight against gender-based violence show the power of women working together across politics and civil society.”
“To continue the robust collaboration seen in the examples, it is crucial that feminist civil society organisations, across all communities and movements, are fully resourced to continue to advocate and represent women’s interests in public life and politics,” she said.
Liliana Fernandez, NWC leadership officer, said: “Increasing women’s representation must stay on the political agenda. We need to ensure women in all their diversity can enter, stay, and thrive in politics.”
“Gender quotas are a proven mechanism to do this,” she said, adding that political parties being required to ensure 40 per cent of their national election candidates are women has “had an impact at national level”.
“Now let’s see it at local level, combined with other measures to support women in politics,” she said.
