Parties urged to run women in general election

POLITICAL parties have been urged to show real commitment to equality in 2007 — by running equal numbers of male and female candidates in the upcoming general election.

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the first Irish equality body, the old Employment Equality Agency, and has also been designated the first European Year Of Equal Opportunities For All, yet Ireland’s record on gender equality is far from exemplary.

Just 22 of the 166 Dáil deputies are women — a mere 13% — and only the Green Party has a stated policy of selecting the same number of male and female candidates. With Síle de Valera and Mildred Fox announcing their intentions not to run in the election, the proportion of women TDs could drop further.

Women’s average hourly wages are still just 85% of men’s, meanwhile, and equal pay for women and maternity rights remain among the most common grounds for complaint to the Equality Authority.

Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority said equality legislation had not brought the desired results and a review was urgently needed.

“We need to look at introducing the idea of positive duties — a statutory requirement on employers and service providers to take steps to prevent discrimination rather than just respond when it happens,” he said.

“Confining [the law] to prohibition on discrimination is not achieving the results we were expecting. Why, after 30 years, is the gender ground so high in discrimination cases and why after 30 years are we seeing so little movement on getting women into senior management positions and positions of power?”

Outside of gender issues, inequality remains a major problem for groups such as people with disabilities, the majority of whom cannot access employment, and Travellers, who live shorter lives, have a higher infant mortality rate and poorer educational opportunities than settled people.

Migrants, same-sex couples, transsexuals, older people and single parent families are also among the groups enduring ongoing discrimination in the workplace, educational institutions, health system and social services.

The Equality Authority has already consulted with over 50 organisations, including support and lobby groups and state agencies, about the events they wish to see run during the European year of equal opportunities, and a full schedule of activities will be launched in February.

The highlight of the year will be a major equality summit in Germany, at which member states will be able to compare notes on their progress to date and lend a helping hand to other member states.