I read about this in the Irish Times today, link follows:
[broken link removed]
Interestingly the proposal seems to have been heavily opposed by Lucinda Creighton and a few other female party members, and was defeated 18 to 14. The reason Creighton gave was that until reform was carried out to change the things that prevent women entering politics that it would be for show only. I feel that she's scored an own goal here and as a woman I would have expected her and her female colleagues to support this measure.
True there has to be reform of childcare, working hours and other issues before it becomes easier for women to be in politics- but in introducing quotas and getting a bigger female representation I would argue that those changes will be introduced more quickly. There has to be a change in our cultural thinking too- it's not only women who are affected by childcare and working hours- but somehow it's more acceptable for a woman to require those changes than a man. But if there is a greater representation of women to start with who can demand those changes then that will be a start. This is a vicious circle- until more women are in politics demanding and getting these changes, those changes won't occur. And until those changes occur, fewer women will be in politics. We have to start somewhere.
I wouldn't envisage this being necessary in the long term- when we do get those changes in place, and especially that necessary cultural mind shift, then quotas will no longer have a place in politics. But until then...I'm very disappointed in this result.
I think it's an insult to women to suggest that we need a quota to be filled.
Should we also have a quota for Polish or Black TDs.
I agree with Caveat. The imposition of quotas would mean the end of democracy.
I'd like to know how anyone can say that female voters don't vote for females- how is this data collated? Are there enough candidates for us to make this deduction?
Because if every female voted for a female candidate and every male voted for a male candidate then we would have 50:50 representation in the Dail.
In the last General Election, how many constituencies had NO Fianna Fail woman candidate.
I don't know the answer to this. Do you?
It is generally accepted that political parties in the first instance have the greatest influence over who will be elected in any given election- this is due to the selection process of candidates.
Why do we need female representation? Because in a population that has almost equal men and woman, we need representation equally. We need gender equality in our government so that social and political influences are imposed both by men and women- so that women influence the legal and political decision making for all of us.
Quotas, of course, are not enough- they are merely a means to fast-tracking us to more equal representation. What we need are legal, cultural and societal shifts but these are slow unless we can implement a more equal representation in the first place.
Why do we need female representation? Because in a population that has almost equal men and woman,
i'm a woman but i don't believe in quotas - it's their qualities as politicians that matter - and you can have a woman with absolutely no compassion, no social thinking and no interest whatsoever to represent women's interests - see mary harney and mary coughlan
The vote of every man and woman has equal weight. It is a core prinicipal of democracy that the voters have a right to chose who they want to represent them. Quotas go against this principal.
The issue isnt the electoral system is the attitudes of the political parties who put forward candidates as the candidates put forward reflect the choice of the party members. Change the parties, not the system if you want to see real change.
I still say no to quotas, I think the political systems needs changing.
Okay, how?
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