National Women’s Council strongly welcomes referendum on care, gender equality, and the family

Published: Wednesday, March 08, 2023

The National Women’s Council (NWC) strongly welcomes the announcement by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on International Women’s Day that a referendum on care, gender equality, and the family will be held in November. If passed, this will bring significant change. It would recognise the reality of women’s lives and ambitions in modern Irish society, the true diversity of families, and the importance of care for all of society.

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWC said,

“This is a timely and significant announcement for women, for families, and for gender equality. It‘s a unifying proposal which, if passed, would replace the outdated, limited role for women with a recognition of the value of care, both in the home and in the community. It would bring a new legal definition of the family which would match the reality for one-parent families and all diverse families.”

“In the past, the Citizens’ Assembly have very accurately reflected the sentiment of the Irish public. Let’s take this opportunity to bring the Irish Constitution into the 21st century for women, families and Irish society.”

Ends/

For comment: Orla O’Connor

For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Communications and Social Media Coordinator on sineadn@nwci.ie

About NWC

The National Women’s Council is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.

This year we celebrate 50 years since our foundation with a special calendar of events and campaigns.

The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.

We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie