Renewed call for gender quotas ahead of next local elections

Women make up 51% of the Irish population but hold just 26% of council seats.

Women from across the island of Ireland and Europe have issued a renewed appeal to establish gender quotas at local Government level.

The National Women's Council's All-Island Forum is calling for a 40% gender quota to be introduced ahead of the next local elections in 2024, in a bid to improve women's representation.

Currently, women make up 51% of the Irish population but hold just 26% of council seats.

Gender quotas were first introduced in 2016, and saw a significant increase in women elected to the Dáil, but have never been introduced at local level.

Speaking at an event organised by the National Women’s Council (NWC) All-Island Women’s Forum, NWC’s Head of Campaigns Rachel Coyle said: “Women make up 51% of the population and we absolutely need to have representation in the halls of power that corresponds to that. But at local level, representation can languish in the single digits.

"Time and again, we’ve seen how gender quotas can put women in the decision-making spaces. Government needs to put them in place as a matter of urgency ahead of the local and European elections.” 

Ms Coyle admitted that gender quotas are a controversial measure, but says they are needed to level the playing field.

"The way that we describe them is sort of a temporary and necessary evil in the sense that you can't be what you can't see. We need to normalise more women on the ticket.

"Quotas aren't a silver bullet either, we want to see this happening in tandem with the other measures that build women's capacity for engaging in public representation," she said.

Ms Coyle also does not believe that gender quotas will lead to men with political aspirations missing out.

She said: "Ultimately what we are calling for is levelling the playing field to allow more women on the ticket, on the ballot paper. It is down to the voters to determine who they want to see elected, but the barriers are very well documented at this stage.

"What we need to see is political will to address them."

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 Jéromine Andolfatto of the European Women’s Lobby said: “Reaching equal women’s representation in politics requires a multifaceted approach — including the implementation of legislated candidate quotas which are a necessary and temporary tool to address the deeply unequal division of power between men and women.

"Our 2023 study shows that, when designed and implemented adequately, these quotas lead to a significant improvement in women’s representation in politics in several EU Member States, including at the local level. 

"In France for instance, women represent 42% of local elected officials.” 

According to the NWC, there is a" breadth of measures" that can be used to increase women's representation but "gender quotas at local government elections are the most effective tool for increasing the number of women on the ballot." 

The NWC All-Island Women’s Forum comprises 28 members, 14 from the Republic and 14 members from Northern Ireland. 

The Forum aims to address the underrepresentation of women and further develop women’s role in peacebuilding and civic society.