Gender quotas have featured heavily in political reform discourse in Ireland. They imply temporary limits on state funding of political parties based on the gender balance they present to the electorate on the ballot paper. Quotas are among the most divisive political reform measures and generate significant controversy. The biggest argument against affirmative action is that it violates rights by ignoring equality of opportunity and not allocating based on competence and qualification. A weighty critique given that equality above all is often the primary justification for the use of quotas. Another argument put forward questions the limits of affirmative action. Should it be employed to ensure adequate representation of all minorities and sub-groups and where is the line to be drawn on this slippery slope? In Ireland quotas have come to dominate political reform debate and merit balanced consideration. Affirmative action is often most fiercely resisted by already elected female politicians. So we decided to consult with female politicians from the opposing camps to help shed some light on the issue. Mary O’Rourke vehemently denounced the idea of women being ‘catapulted into power’ through the use of any mechanism of affirmative action. As a woman she felt that her merit and that alone entitled her to achieve her position as an elected representative. The idea of favours being done or odds being stacked in the favour of women was to her a repugnant perversion of the democratic workings of the Irish state. She repeatedly argued throughout the interview that women are already involved in Irish Politics and that in her constituency there were at least nine active female politicians at local and national level. Mary O’Rourke argued that the optimal method of improving the likelihood of future female participation in national politics was to change the workings of the Dail to ensure more social hours suitable to mothers. She outright rejected any claim that low levels of female involvement are a long institutionalised reality in Irish politics. The historical legacies of the Catholic patriarchal hierarchy and a deferent political culture have not shaped modern politics and gender roles according to Mary O’Rourke. Not isolated in this view; she is supported by Joanna Tuffy of the Labour party and Lucinda Creighton of Fine Gael. So cross party agreement can perhaps be achieved on some issues.
Hillary Clinton, one of the most famous female politicians
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the equal rights of men and women as fundamental human rights, and seeks to secure their effective recognition and observance by the people and governments of member states. While the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) states that it is the role and responsibility of governments to use all appropriate measures to ensure women’s equal participation in political and public decision-making. Over the past 15 years, female representation has increased significantly in almost all other EU member states. Today, average participation rate in EU nations is 24%. The failure of successive governments and political parties to confront gender imbalance has meant that female representation has never reached more than 14% in Ireland. The 2009 Sub-committee on women’s participation in politics produced a report that recommended the adoption of gender quotas. Gender quotas have worked as a solution to gender imbalance in countries such as Spain and Belgium. The 2007 election returned 22 women to the Dail, which translates into a weak 13%, well below the 30% target set by the United Nations Organization. The proportion of female candidates in the forthcoming election, at 17%, is even lower than in the 2007 contest. The Labour Party has the highest number of women running for the Dail (16), followed by Fine Gael (14) and Fianna Fail (9), Sinn Fein (5), United Left Alliance (5), Greens (3). This skewed gender balance is an affront to the democratic ideal of equality.
Gender equality is a principle of human rights and the government should be accountable in the promotion of gender equality. Female under- representation is a problem in Ireland and gender quotas offer a mechanism that can be used to improve women’s representation in parliament. Irish political parties have recognized that action is required to secure women’s place on candidate lists and have undertaken steps to implement a gender equality plan. However, no party has committed to a definite gender quota. Under-representation of women is shameful and can no longer be accepted. The absence of affirmative action to tackle the problem makes it exceedingly clear that not only does a glass ceiling exist in Irish society but that it has concrete reinforcements.
Ciara Begley and Julianne Cox
