Mick Clifford: Defence Forces not alone in living in the past when it comes to attitudes to women

The problems highlighted in the report on the Defence Forces, as they pertain to women, have far more to do with the culture of the organisation than the level of female participation, as evidenced in other sectors

Members of Women of Honour Karina Molloy, Honor Murphy, Diane Byrne, and Yvonne O'Rourke: One might wonder whether much of the problem is simply down to the low level of female participation in which a misogynistic culture could be easily disguised and covered up until some brave women finally were able to come forward in recent years. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins 

One of the many lines to leap out of the Independent Review Group’s report on the Defence Forces published this week is that women are “barely tolerated”. 

That, the IRG report notes, is the best-case scenario.