LW welcomes award to 'Women For Election'
19 October 2011
Labour Women welcomes the announcement today that Women for Election has won a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Social Impact Programme award.
Katherine Dunne, Labour Women chair said: "Labour Women shares the vision of Women for Election of an Ireland with balanced participation of women and men in political life. We are delighted that the important work of Women for Election has been recognised by this award. Just 15% of Irish TDs and 16% of councillors are women. This places Ireland in a poor position internationally and means that Irish women are under-represented when it comes to decision-making that affects their lives.
"Evidence shows that in order to permanently increase the number of women in politics, hard measures such as legislative requirements for the proportion of female candidates must be combined with additional supports such as mentoring and training. The Government has made a commitment to introduce such legislation before the next general election and Women for Election's programme of training, networking and advocacy will be invaluable in supporting women to become candidates and win seats.
"Political parties of all persuasions must step up to the mark and support more women to become elected representatives. We look forward to working with Women for Election to implement their vision along with other political parties and groups."
