Opinion: It’s time to bring in gender quotas if we want to see more women elected

As you read this column things are starting to fall into place in our local government structure that will guide Kilkenny County Council’s new elected members for the coming five years.

This Friday will be the first meeting of the 24 ‘new’ public representatives since we went to the polls, on June 7. It’s new but it’s the same. The same structures and, mostly, the same people.

The hard work of sitting councillors was rewarded by voters in re-electing them. However this meant that there was very little change in the Class of 2024 - Kilkenny elected just six women councillors.

Mary Hilda Cavanagh in the Castlecomer area, Deirdre Cullen and Stephanie Doheny in the Callan Thomastown area, Maria Dollard in the city and in the Piltown area Fidelis Doherty and Jenny Catt Slattery. Three of these women won a council seat for the first time in an election.
In positive terms this is an increase on the last council election, but women still just make up just 25% of the councillors in Kilkenny.

It’s not just in the council chamber where women make up a small group. There were just 13 women candidates in the local election in Kilkenny - in a field of 50.

While we, of course, celebrate the success of these women, questions have to be asked about why we still see so few women getting involved in political life.
Many academic studies have concluded that having more women at decision-making tables makes politics work better for everyone and provides better representation.

In advance of polling day Brian Sheehan, CEO of Women for Election, celebrated the fact that “glass ceilings are being broken. More women than ever before are running in the local elections in a major milestone for Irish democracy.” He predicted that voters across the country would have “the opportunity to change the face of local government.”
This didn’t happen.

The National Women’s Council welcomed the women elected but said it was “very disappointed about the missed opportunity to break the critical barrier of 40% for women’s representation in Local Government.”

When all ballots were counted the female representation on local councils across the country remained at 26%.
Ireland will remain at 22nd place out of the EU 27 for the number of women in local politics.

Some commentators are now advocating for a radical approach to even up the gender balance in local politics.
The National Women’s Council has called on all political parties to commit to the introduction of a 40% gender quota for local election candidates in their party manifestos.

That gender quota is already in place for general elections. If political parties do not have at least 40% women candidates (and 40% men candidates) they will lose 50% of their annual State funding to run their operations.

“It is very clear that the incentive approach from the Government is not working, as large parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, failed to run at least 40% women as candidates. Neither managed to even reach 30% which is incredibly disappointing,” said Rachel Coyle, Head of Campaigns and Mobilisation a the National Women’s Council.

“As was the case with the general elections, a gender quota for local elections is a necessity if we are serious about achieving gender equality in political life for women.”

A Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality Women for Election proposed the introduction of quotas for the local elections and for the Seanad, with 88% support.

The Women for Election group is also calling for local election quotas.
“The stagnation in the number of women in local government, despite a record number of women candidates, clearly demonstrates that radical new measures are needed to ensure a properly representative democracy,” said Brian Sheehan.

“Women for Election are calling on the Government to implement a candidate quota for the next local government elections at 40%, the same as for the next general election. In the meantime, political parties can take comprehensive steps towards redressing the gender imbalance, including women-only shortlists for co-options and developing internal party rules that mandate 50:50 in all internal positions and in candidate selection conventions,” he said.
The reasons why women don’t get involved in politics in as high numbers as men are both historical and complex. It is widely recognised that much needs to be done to make politics a more ‘family-friendly’ work environment, and introducing quotas is just one of these steps.

Quotas might not be everybody’s solution to this question but, as a Women For Election report says, the effect is worth it. Quotas “introduce a short, sharp, shock to the political system that makes change happen quickly.”
Allowing the political system to embrace women naturally has seen a ‘glacial’ pace of change, the group points out, and “an increasing number of countries globally are introducing gender quotas to improve gender balance with impressive results.”

Local government is an important step in the political careers of many politicians. If women are not on the ballot they can’t be elected.
Supports along the way are now commonplace, from the See Her Elected group that helps women across rural Ireland get elected to county councils, to Women’s Caucuses for female politicians to discuss and campaign on matters that predominantly affect women. Why not take another constructive step and bring in quotas to enhance politics and political life for all?