Sweden’s Feminist Initiative are on the rise, but what does the history of women’s parties tell us about their prospects?

With the success of Soraya Post and Feminist Initiative in Sweden this year, Claire McGing looks at women’s political parties, how they emerge, what influences they can have, and the challenges they face. While the influence of women’s parties has historically frequently been transitory, they nonetheless have a ‘contagion’ effect on mainstream parties, who seek to protect their status by feminising their organisations

Analysis of the women selected and elected by quota in Ireland dispel the myth that they were under-qualified

The introduction of legal gender quotas for the 2016 general election in Ireland resulted in a marked improvement in the number of women candidates selected and TDs (parliamentarian) elected. However, questions of merit and qualifications were continually raised about women candidates throughout the campaign. In this blog Fiona Buckley and Claire McGing assess the political experience of women candidates and dispel the myth that women candidates were unqualified or unmerited candidates

Is local office a springboard for women to Dáil Éireann?

Previous research has found the single transferable vote electoral system is relatively friendly to women candidates. Despite this, female representation in the Irish Parliament remains substantially lower than in most other democracies. Drawing on pipeline theory and localism, we assess the impact of local office-holding on the success of male and female major party candidates in the 2007 and 2011 Irish general elections. We find previous experience in local office is a key springboard to higher office for men and women, and when women serve in local government the likelihood of election increases significantly

Gender and Electoral Representation in Ireland

This article reviews the historic and contemporary challenges to women’s electoral representation in Ireland. After summarizing the cultural and institutional obstacles to greater female representation, this article analyzes candidate selection, especially in relation to the 2011 Irish General Election, a process that appears to be the significant hurdle preventing more women from attaining elected office. It also discusses the proposed legislation that uses quotas to ensure the major political parties in Ireland nominate initially at least 30 per cent of their candidates to be women. It is hoped that this measure will redress the historic and chronic underrepresentation of women in Irish electoral politics.Dans cet article, les auteurs reconsidèrent les défis auxquels les femmes candidates à la représentation électorale ont fait et font encore face en Irlande. Après avoir résumé les obstacles culturels et institutionnels qui s’opposent à une plus grande représentation des femmes, cet article analyse le processus de sélection des candidats notamment lors des élections législatives irlandaises de 2011. Ce processus semble être un obstacle visiblement considérable à l’élection de davantage de femmes. Cet article s’interroge aussi sur la législation qui propose d’imposer des quotas afin de garantir la nomination d'au moins 30 % de femmes au sein des partis politiques principaux d'Irlande. Cette mesure devrait parvenir à résoudre le problème de la sous-représentation des femmes dans les élections irlandaises

The impact of online misogyny on women’s participation: democracy experts respond

Many women, including a number of high-profile British politicians, have been the targets of misogynistic abuse via social media. Democratic Audit recently featured an article by Laura Bates, arguing that this trend has negative effect on rates of female participation in public life. In this post we ask leading democracy and gender experts to respond, sharing their experiences and views on how misogyny undermines democracy

'Women of character': Women's Political Representation in Dáil Éireann in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Ireland

This chapter outlines and assesses women’s political representation in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish Parliament, in both revolutionary and post-revolutionary Ireland. It argues that the establishment of the Irish Free State and the onset of Civil War in 1922 represent a shift in the opportunities available for women to enter parliamentary politics. Although the first woman MP ever elected was from Ireland and six women TDs1 were returned in the 1921 general election, Dáil Éireann following independence was a ‘colder house’ for women’s representation. The outright opposition of women TDs (and Republican women more generally) to the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922 was a crucial factor in the decline of women’s representation, as was the influence of various political, legislative and socio-cultural changes in the Irish Free State. Drawing on the parliamentary record and secondary sources, this chapter aims to reveal political women’s agency as activists and politicians in the decades that followed the establishment of the Irish Free State and considers the gendered obstacles the first women TDs faced in their roles. In doing so, the chapter assists with an important reappraisal of women in politics over this period

Feminist and gender geographies in Ireland

This report discusses feminist and gender geographies in Ireland. We first focus on the ways in which gender constructs Irish geographies, updating numbers of women in academic positions across Ireland. This shows that women are increasingly in secure positions, but remain under-represented in more senior positions. We then turn to research. We discuss how femininities and women, and masculinities and men, have been addressed in Irish geographies. The focus on femininities and women is crucial given recent strides towards gender and reproductive justice. We then briefly summarise sexualities work. The report concludes by arguing that Ireland not only has vibrant gender/feminist geographical scholarship, it also has significant potential for emerging research and developing new theorisations and research agendas

Women beyond the Dáil: more women in local government

Like national politics, local government in Ireland has historically been highly male-dominated and still has some distance to travel before a ‘critical mass’ of women councillors is achieved. Women continue to be a minority in senior decision-making roles, where key policy and operational decisions are taken. Research has made the link between low levels of female representation in decision making and poor outcomes for women’s interests in policy making. Increasing the representation of women in local government challenges organisational cultures and increases perceptions of inclusion and representativeness for constituents. Understanding how to increase women’s representation in local government can in turn improve public awareness and support of local government.</p