We need more women in local politics
Published: Friday, May 03, 2019
The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) today (3rd May) launched its #FeministCommunities manifesto for the local elections on May 24th, and called for a breakthrough election for women in local politics.
NWCI is calling on local candidates to commit to strengthening local communities, challenging sexism and racism, promoting equality and operating in a way that empowers and includes diverse communities. 30% of candidates that have been selected to run in the Local Elections 2019 are women. This is an increase from 21.6% of women candidate selections in 2014. Out of 1719 candidates, 513 are women.
Laura Harmon, NWCI’s Women in Leadership Coordinator said,
“The local elections on May 24th are an important chance to increase women’s representation, and to elect more women to local authorities. The number of women in local government is so low that currently men out-number women in all regional decision-making structures in Ireland. The number of women elected to local councils, which stood at 16% in 1999, is only now at 21% 20 years later. NWCI is calling for these local elections to be a breakthrough election for women.”
Catherine Lane, NWCI’s Women in Local Government Officer said,
“Local government is uniquely positioned to strengthen women’s participation in society and to ensure equal and just impact of local services and investment, and these local elections are a big opportunity for women. This is crucial in many rural constituencies where the low representation of women is very stark. ”
“NWCI’s Feminist Communities Manifesto outlines the key demands of our members in relation to six core policy areas where local authorities have impact. These include women’s leadership, violence against women, economic independence, care, equality at work and climate change. We are calling on local election candidates to endorse our Manifesto, and commit to supporting policies of women’s equality, if elected.”
Read NWCI’s Feminist Manifesto for the Local Elections 2019 - https://www.nwci.ie/learn/publications/feminist_manifesto_for_the_local_elections_2019
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For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, Tel. 085 858 9104.