Labour party has a better gender balance

SENATOR Frances Fitzgerald urges political parties to make sure more women enter the political decision-making process (February 12).

Currently 35% of Labour’s TDs are women. This compares well with Fianna Fáil (8%) and Fine Gael (9%). There lies the problem: the bigger parties with the biggest membership do not produce enough women candidates.

It seems neither FF nor FG is doing enough to give women opportunities. Or perhaps women do not find FF or FG are parties they want to be involved with possibly due to the lack of women-friendly practices. Or perhaps Labour’s policies are more attractive to women who therefore naturally gravitate towards us.