Total equality not yet achieved

It is ironic that the Examiner, on the first ever UN International Day of the Girl, 11 October, chose to publish an article saying that there is no longer a need for the National Women’s Council (NWCI).

The fact remains that despite making up 51% of the population of Ireland, women’s equality has not been achieved and is often relegated to the margins of Irish society, where just 15% of TDs and 19% of local councillors are women.

Women are often invisible in debates about the nature of our current crisis and options for recovery. On all counts of poverty, income and social exclusion, women are less well-off and earn less than men.