Labour Women: 10 reasons to vote Labour
Issued : Wednesday 23 February, 2011
Labour Women ask the women and men of Ireland to carefully consider their vote on Friday. Katherine Dunne, Labour Women Chair said: “The right to vote is not something that anyone should take lightly.
“Irish women achieved the right to vote almost a century ago and it’s tempting to think we’ve come a long way in that time.
“However, women are still underrepresented in decision making and continue to face disadvantages in everyday life. For example, women make up only 13% of the Dáil and women in Ireland earn 8% less than their male counterparts for doing the same work. Women have smaller pensions and generally rely more on social welfare than men do. Domestic violence has increased during the recession.
“It is therefore important to consider the political parties’ commitments towards equality measures before voting on Friday. Equality between women and men is a core value of the Labour Party and I urge women and men who value equality to cast their Number 1 vote for Labour.
“The following 10 measures are manifesto commitments from Labour that will make life better for women:
1. Labour will bring more women into politics by tying funding for political parties to the participation of women representatives.
2. Labour will make it a legal requirement that 40 per cent of either gender is represented on state boards and committees.
3. Labour will recommend updating the Constitution to reflect the role of women in 21st century Ireland by removing references to women’s place in the home.
4. Labour will introduce a legal right to a career break for parents, explore the option of introducing a right to part-time work and move towards a system of shared parental leave.
5. Labour will protect funding for frontline domestic violence services and draw on best international practice to reform the way the courts deal with domestic abuse cases.
6. Labour will legislate in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in the X Case, and the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
7. Labour will reverse the reduction to the minimum wage, which disproportionately affects women.
8. Labour will introduce Universal Health Insurance to cover primary, hospital and community care.
9. Labour will establish an Oireachtas Committee on Equality, Women and Human Rights to progress legislation in these areas.
10. Labour will establish a new Equality and Social Inclusion Authority to promote social inclusion and equality and combat poverty and discrimination.”
