A fresh coalition within civil society has recently been convened with the aim of ensuring a 40% gender quota for potential local election candidates. This action is positioned as a means to combat the prevailing gender inequality in the upcoming governmental programme. This group, guided by the National Women’s Council (NWC), and titled the Alliance for Gender Quotas at Local Level, unites scholars with advocates for women from the Traveller, migrant, and disabled communities.
Rachel Coyle, who leads campaigns at NWC, voiced her concerns about the underrepresentation of women in local politics, referring to it as a striking example of gender inequality. In 2020, the Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality urged the Government to enforce quotas for the local elections set for 2024.
Of the members of local authorities, women account for only 26%, with a mere 247 out of 949 councillors being women, and only nine of the 31 local authorities having achieved the 30% threshold for female representation.
Coyle highlights that women are initiating crucial transformations in politics and bringing key issues such as gender-related violence and reproductive health to the forefront, despite progress being regrettably slow. The disappointing performance of women in the June local elections serves as an alarm bell, as Coyle emphasised that waiting for another election cycle is not an option if political groups were to take gender representation seriously. Coyle stressed the issue by saying that, without women on local ballots, national representation remains a missed opportunity.
Liliana Fernandez, who holds a leadership role at NWC, asserted that immediate action is necessary to enhance the number of women involved in local politics. To her, this entails equal gender distribution across the nation, while ensuring better diversity through representing women from varied backgrounds, including disabled women, ethnic minority women like those from the Traveller and Roma communities, and women from marginalised identities and populations.
Quota systems were highlighted as a tool with proven success in addressing the continually problematic underrepresentation of women in local administration. The coalition is also advocating for increased financial assistance for political parties, local councils and NGOs that is tied to results, with the intent of bolstering the inclusion of women.
In NWC’s opinion, for quotas to be impactful, substantial resources for engagement, capacity-boosting and training are required.