Ireland ranks seventh in the EU in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE) index. Scores are particularly high in areas such as work, health and access to financial resources, but pronounced gender inequalities remain in decision-making positions across the political, economic and social spheres. While approximately one in two people believes that gender equality has been achieved in leadership positions in the workplace, roughly one in six believes that women do not have the necessary qualities and skills to fill positions of responsibility in politics. Less than one-quarter of the TDs elected to the 33rd Dáil and just four of the country’s 15 Cabinet ministers are women. At a local level, the make-up is similar, with women taking 25% of seats at the most recent council elections. In addition, the report highlights that less than one-third of board members in the largest publicly listed companies and only 33.5% of senior and middle management positions are held by women. Moreover, over half of the Irish population believes that the woman’s main role is to take care of her home and family. 

This panel will focus on improving the balance between women and men in decision-making positions in Ireland, especially in the political, economic and social spheres. We will talk about: 

• How to break stereotypes? 

• What role do men play in terms of improving gender balance? 

• What is the impact of pandemics on gender equality? 

• What does the Irish government do to improve gender equality?

 SPEAKERS: 

Pat Montague, Change Advocate, Strategist and Capacity Builder 

Jeevantika Lingalwar, Founder of International Women in Tech, Entrepreneur and Speaker 

Catherine Lane, Officer at the National Women’s Council 

Sara Clavero, Postdoctoral Researcher at TU Dublin and Senior Researcher at the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Directorate 

Bukky Adebowale, Vice President for Equality and Citizenship at the Union of Students in Ireland