NWCI launch Election 2007 Manifesto ahead of International Women’s Day

Published: Sunday, May 06, 2007

Today, the eve of International Womens Day, the National Womens Council of Ireland, who represents over 300,000 women in Ireland, launched their Election Manifesto. The Council also announced its intention to pursue legal proceedings against the state on behalf of women who have been discriminated against for many years in the Social Welfare system, denied access to full state contributory pension in their own right.

The Council firmly believe that Irish women will never achieve their full potential and equality while they remain disadvantaged by poverty, violence and exclusion from political life.

Speaking at the launch of the Manifesto What women want from the next Irish Government, Dr Joanna Mc Minn, Director of the NWCI said We want to leave the next Government in no doubt of the expectations of Irish women. We will no longer tolerate the under representation of women at so many different levels of society, the fact that one in four of us are subjected to significant physical, sexual or psychological abuse in the course of our lives, the fact that women aged 65 and older have a 45% risk of poverty and a gender pay gap of 14%.

An area of major discrimination identified by the Council is the lingering effects of the pre-1973 civil service marriage bar which forced women working in the civil service to resign when they married. As a result of this bar, 110,000 women still only get 80% of the standard old age pension of 200. Today the Council said that they have financial support to take a discrimination case through the Irish courts and to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

The Manifesto is the result of a wide-ranging consultation process with women throughout the country and sets out the key priorities which women have identified as being of critical importance to them. The NWCI seek commitment to these principles from those who wish to lead the country going forward. We believe that Ireland will be a better society to live in for everyone when:

• there are more women in positions of decision-making
• there is zero tolerance of violence against women
• there is a equal sharing of care and household work
• there is economic equality between women and men
• there is equal respect and autonomy, irrespective of diversity and difference.

Dr McMinn continued There is a strong expectation from women that the time has come for those who wish to lead the country to take womens issues seriously. Over the forthcoming weeks we expect politicians from every party to respond to these issues.

The issues identified by the NWCI include the following:

The under-representation of women at all levels of political life.

The NWCIs vision is of an Ireland where all women and men have equal power to shape society and their own lives. We cannot see that happening in an environment where Just 19% of local councillors and only 13% of TDs are women. Women need more opportunities to become active citizens. Indeed at the current rate of change, it will take 370 years for women to gain equal representation. We are asking politicians what they plan to do to ensure that this situation changes.

Irish women want at least 40% of either sex in both houses of the Oireachtas, in political parties, in public appointments and on social partnership structures.

One in four women experience significant physical, sexual or psychological abuse in the course of their lives

Since 1996, 125 women have been murdered in Ireland. Research shows that almost 1 in 5 Irish women experience domestic violence. Recent research indicates that domestic violence was the strongest and most consistent risk factor for intimate partner homicide. Nearly 50 per cent of all resolved cases of female homicide were committed by the husband, ex-husband, partner or ex-partner. This involved cases where the perpetrator had been charged and found guilty.

Irish women want stronger legislation to protect victims of violence, and to hold those who perpetrate violence against women accountable to the criminal justice system.
Ireland will be a better place if there is a more equal distribution of care and household work

Currently parents in Ireland pay up to 90% of their childcare costs in comparison to parents in Sweden who pay 20% and Denmark 33%. Ireland remains one of the few countries in the EU with no paid parental leave provision. The is evidence that low income parents who cannot afford to pay for childcare are often forced to settle for a lower quality of care.

Irish women want one years paid parental leave; one years free early education and affordable, quality childcare places for every child before they attend primary school; publicly subsidised childcare to reduce the costs of childcare for all parents and provide full credits for care work and parenting.

Ireland will be a better place if there is economic equality between women and men

At the moment one in five women in Ireland are at risk of poverty (CSO 2005), with lone parents facing a 42% risk of poverty and women aged 65 and older have a 45% risk of poverty in comparison to 34% of men. At present the gender pay gap in Ireland is 14%.

Irish women want to end the gender pay gap; create a wage for all carers; ensure that all women on social welfare receive full payments in their own right; including a full contributory pension for all women who spent time out of paid work to care for their children. Irish Women also want the introduction of a cost of disability payment.

Ireland will be a better place if there is equal respect and autonomy, irrespective of diversity and difference.

Three areas were specifically identified by women around the country, womens health issues, the specific issues faced by migrant workers and by Traveller women.

Poverty has a significant negative impact on health and women are over represented in poverty. The cancer mortality (death) rate in women in Ireland is second highest in Western Europe; women from lower socio-economic groups have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, the major cause of death among Irish women; and eating disorders and 10 times more common amongst girls than boys.

Irish Women want the introduction of a National Health Plan for Women; free and regular cervical screening for all women nationwide. We want free and prompt Breast cancer screening in all areas of the country and we seek legislation to ensure womens full reproductive rights

Ireland will need approximately 420,000 new workers from 2001 2010.??? Much of this labour force has and will be recruited from outside Ireland. The UN estimates that of the 175million migrants worldwide 50% are women. In some regions this percentage is higher (e.g. in the Philippines where women make up 70% of the migrant worker population)

Irish women want family reunification for all migrant workers and a Joint Labour Committee for domestic workers.

There are approximately 25,000 Travellers in Ireland. Infant mortality rates amongst the Traveller community are 3 times that of the settled community, life expectancy for Traveller women is 12 years less than for settled women and over 3,000 Traveller families are currently living on the roadside or in temporary accommodation.

Irish woman want Travellers recognised as a minority ethnic group in Ireland.