Government failing to tackle gender imbalance, say studies

WOMEN’S needs are being overlooked in national policies, despite a Government commitment to address gender imbalance, two new reports have found.

A report by the Women’s Health Council (WHC) - Integrating the Gender Perspective in Irish Health Policy: A Case Study - found the national cardiovascular health policy, Building Healthier Hearts, took men’s cardiovascular health as the basis for the policy, to the detriment of women.

WHC director Geraldine Luddy said it operated on the assumption that “one size fits all”, which was flawed because heart disease in women manifested itself in different ways from men.

“In heart health, it was seen very much as a male problem and the strategy didn’t make any attempt to move away from quoting male symptoms, such as chest pain, as the norm.”

A second report by the Policy Institute said while the Government was committed to gender equality in the National Development Plan (NDP), the commitment was not delivered on.

The report, Plus Ca Change? Gender Mainstreaming of the Irish National Development Plan, found only one of the NDP’s seven main monitoring committees, set up to oversee NDP spending progress, had achieved a gender balance of 40:60 as recommended by Government State boards.

Report author Dr Anne Marie McGauran said this meant in most committees, policy issues are decided with little female input.

The report also found just over a third of measures actually consider equal opportunities within their project selection.