General Election 2024: The Irish political system is 'stacked in men's favour'

The ‘Women Beyond the Dáil’ seminar took place at the Council Chamber at Cork City Hall and heard from female candidates in the upcoming general election who discussed their political experiences.

Former deputy lord mayor and Green Party councillor, Colette Finn emphasised the importance of gender balance in politics and discussed institutional biases.

Ms Finn discussed her experience as a semi-single parent and mentioned the importance of male allies in politics — and the conversation also touched on practical challenges such as balancing family responsibilities.

She referenced the book Good Guys and the need for men to understand the systemic advantages they have and highlighted how the political system is “stacked in men's favour”.

Describing the political system as one designed by Victorian men, for Victorian men, she said it “doesn’t suit dads either”.

“It’s about having a conversation about how we can make better decisions, about political decision-making,” Ms Finn said.

Key findings of the National Women’s Council’s ‘Women Beyond Access, Representation, and Retention in Irish Local Government’ research were presented by leadership officer Lilianna Fernández who highlighted how women are “grossly under-represented” in Irish politics.

Before the 2024 local elections, women occupied 26% of council seats (246 out of 949). Compared to the outgoing council figures, the number of seats secured by women candidates in the 2024 local elections increased by only one to 247 seats, which represents 26% of all councillors — and places Ireland well below the EU average of 35% in the share of women holding office at the local/municipal level.

The findings on the rural-urban divide in gender representation were also discussed, as well as the role of political parties in running female candidates, the challenges of incumbency and the need for term limits to allow new candidates to enter the political landscape.

The presentation of the key findings from the research was followed by a panel discussion led by the director of the National Women’s Council Orla O’Connor in conversation with general election candidate for Cork South Central and former leadership coordinator at the NWC Laura Harmon, Green Party general election candidate for Cork North West Colette Finn and the Lord Mayor of Cork councillor Dan Boyle.

Ms Harmon discussed the importance of breaking gender roles in politics, the significance of having women in politics for better decision-making and the need for balance and diversity in representation, highlighting a lack of female representation in the Cork South Central constituency for the last 17 years.

The Labour Party councillor encouraged women to run for political office and spoke of the importance of training and mentorship programmes for women interested in politics and political education in schools to inspire and prepare the next generation of leaders.

“I know there has been research that shows that you have to ask a woman to really put herself over more than once, and this is the same for job applications. Women often feel, if you're applying for a job, you have to tick every single box on the job application, whereas a male might feel, if I meet 60% of it, I might apply,” she said.

“So it's about not feeling that you have to be perfect or fulfill the criteria. There's always space for learning as well so I think that’s a factor in politics as well.”