A woman’s place - A lot done, a lot more to do

WE HAVE just passed the 90th anniversary of the enactment of the Representation of People Act, the law that finally gave Irish women the right to vote.

Despite this we have the eighth lowest proportion of women in parliament of EU member states.

Ireland, with women making up a mere 13% of parliamentarians, compares very poorly with a European average of 22%. In Sweden — 47% — the 50/50 threshold is on the horizon, as it is in Finland at 45%.