Mairéad O’Shea: In the running: Encouraging women to get into politics

The possibility of having more women in elected office is becoming tangled up in negativity relating to online abuse, writes Mairéad O’Shea

Becoming an elected representative is challenging, the hours are long, the work is demanding but the rewards are there.

Candidates all over the country are dusting off their sensible shoes as they prepare to hit the canvass for next year’s local elections and already it looks like we could have more women than ever before vying for those council seats. But this good news story is threatened with darkening clouds.

Somewhere along the way, the narrative has quietly shifted from “Why wouldn’t more women run for election?” to “Why would any woman even think about running?”