Gender is a measure of diversity in Ireland, but not of fundamental difference

The paltry representation of women on-air today belies the fact that from the foundation of the State women were fully equal and indeed a majority among electors, writes Gerard Howlin

AT THE 11th hour on this the 11th day of the 11th month the unknown soldier will be remembered in silence. The unknown soldier is the invention of societies shook to their foundations by mass mobilisation and the onslaught of the totality of modern warfare.

Long-suffering women, like unknown soldiers, are the constructs of powerful men. They are necessary responses, disquieting accommodations by elites, of forces that must be co-opted if they are to survive.