#FemGen 2020 - Eamon Ryan, Green Party
Published: Sunday, January 26, 2020
As part of our #FemGen general election campaign 2020, NWCI has asked the party leaders of the main political parties to outline their commitment to women's equality by answering four questions.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Yes.
What has been your biggest achievement for women’s equality to date?
I believe one of our recent key feminist achievements my party has delivered has been the great work of my colleague Deputy Leader, Catherine Martin on extending maternity leave to mothers of premature babies. I commend her and have been honoured to support her in her work. This is the sort of practical politics that helps women. Additionally, our party has ensured 44% of our candidates for the local elections in 2019 were women and now 41% of our candidates are women running for the general election and will continue to ensure that there are more women in politics. Moreover, our party's management committee is greatly represented by women with five out of six of our committee members are women.
What is the most important change that you want to achieve for women’s equality if elected as Taoiseach?
I believe it is important to advance women's leadership in politics and across the business sectors by introducing mandatory gender quota for executive boards of all large companies registered in Ireland. It is important to have a gender balance in all offices. Moreover, it is important to ensure that we rearrange the political structures to facilitate more access for women and men allowing them to balance personal/family and work life. Additionally, increase paid parental leave to allow men to share with women in caring for children/relatives and managing family life and bring proposals for basic income to facilitate better choices and flexibility in career development. There is a lot of significant work that needs to be done to ensure women's equality from prioritising Women's health to leading a Green New Deal.
Will you commit to having a gender-balanced Cabinet?
It is important that a Cabinet is diverse in its opinions, expertise, and experiences. We are committed to a cabinet that is as diverse as possible in terms of age, gender and race/ethnicity with regard to the composition of Dail Eireann.