When politicians come knocking stop them and ask about female equality
ONE of the good things about the postponement of the general election until next year is that it gives us all more time to think about what we might ask the canvassing politicians when they call to our doors.
I imagine that the majority of you have been thinking of little else, other than which issues you will raise with the politicians hoping for re-election, with the first-timers, and with the previously unsuccessful who ring your doorbell.
These election hopefuls do actually report back to headquarters on what they’ve been “picking up on the doorsteps”. So issues that are repeatedly raised do get fed back through the system, and may even get a response, in some manner. In the height of a tightly fought campaign, as we know, pledges can be made if the demand is seen to be there.
I’m thinking specifically of collaring those political-callers on the matter of female equality, so we can build on the momentum of the past few weeks, in terms of women’s representation in society. Let them know this issue is live.
I’ve drawn up a checklist, a quick reminder of some hot equality topics. One of the first questions I’ll be posing is whether the candidate agrees that there should be a specific Oireachtas Committee exclusively for women and for equality issues.
As things stand, issues of importance to women come under the umbrella of the Justice, Defence and Equality Committee, which is very ably chaired by Fine Gael’s David Stanton.
The committee has a heavy workload, which is no surprise, given its catch-all title. The issues it has dealt with since 2011 include curbing repeat burglaries, drugs policy, insolvency procedures, delays in conveyancing transactions, submissions on the Brighter Evenings Bill, and the concerns of newsagents in curbing black-market trade.
Under the equality banner, it discussed the Redress Bill for Magdalenes, EU proposals for improving gender balance on boards, published a report on domestic and sexual violence, as well as one on criminalising those who pay for sex, and looked at the statute of limitations in relation to symphysiotomy.
No disrespect to this good work, but there is such a kitchen-sink element to this committee’s agenda that women’s equality hardly got much of a look-in.
We only have to look to the House of Commons, in Britain, to see an excellent example of what can be done.
Earlier this year, The Women and Equalities Committee was appointed to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Government Equalities Office (GEO). That department, the GEO, and the minister for women are held to account by this committee for performance on gender, age, race, sexual orientation, disability and transgender issues. Now, the House of Commons is one of more than 30 parliaments worldwide with a dedicated equalities committee. Sadly, Leinster House does not rank among them.
The GEO website homepage is a small indication of how the general mindset in Britain is more developed.
It’s brimming with energy and positive attitude. You can sign up for a ‘Women’s Engagement’ newsletter, there’s news of a ‘Women of the Future Summit’, speed-mentoring events, and an update on the number of calls received by a ‘revenge porn’ helpline number.
The momentum could not be in more contrast to the hard-to-find ‘gender-equality’ section on our own Department of Justice and Equality website. I won’t bore you with its dry prose.
The new UK Commons Committee is examining the gender pay gap for women over 40 and how it may be reduced. The committee has its own Twitter account and is inviting submissions on this issue, with men over 40 being paid substantially more, on average, than women. In fact, shortly after his re-election earlier this year, British prime minister David Cameron pledged to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”.
So that is the next issue for your canvassing callers: ask them what their view is on the gender pay gap in Ireland, which has widened from 12.6% to 14.4%, while the gender pension gap stands at an incredible 35%.
According to figures compiled by the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), women in couples lost 14% of their income during the recession, compared to 9% for men, and 50% of women workers earn less than €20,000, far below the average wage of €28, 500. Where women do outnumber men is in the rather awful new world of non-fixed-hour contracts and casualisation.
Once you’ve gone through that, ask about the candidate’s position on a new national plan for women’s rights.
Even the Minister for Equality, Aodhan Ó Riordain, has said that the current National Women’s Strategy, published by Fianna Fail and the PDs in 2007, was “well past its sell-by-date”. He is talking about a new one, but it’s highly unlikely to happen ahead of the general election. Ask if such a plan is contained in the canvasser’s party election manifesto.
Childcare is another issue. Clearly, childcare affects men and women, but the burden of it usually falls to women.
The Government finally began to get to grips with it in last month’s budget, but so much remains to be done, in terms of scaling-up our rather pathetic childcare infrastructure. Ireland spends less than half the OECD average on early-years care and education.
Highlight your own circumstances, and ask exactly what the particular party has proposed to do if it gets into Government.
Last year, research carried out by the NWCI found that the number-one issue for women was domestic violence. In its pre-budget submission, the organisation highlighted how the State fails on the double, by neither preventing or adequately responding to female physical and sexual abuse. The Government has signed the Istanbul Convention, on violence against women, but the next government will have to ratify it. What does the person looking for your vote have to say about this important matter?
Our health services also matter to men and women, but there are specific issues that are particularly relevant to females. Ask about the party’s commitment on the promised, and very badly needed, national maternity strategy. Its absence makes a nonsense of claims that we have any sort of international-standard maternity service. The extension of Breastcheck to women aged 65-69 is another long-promised, never-reached, target.
These are just a few of the issues that could be raised. Clearly, the issue of abortion will likely trump all of these, but the rest are well worth a mention. By the way, if it is a Fine Gael or Labour TD canvassing, you feel free to wonder why the women’s-equality agenda has suffered so badly under this Government.
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