Failure to appoint more women Ministers a missed opportunity – Bacik
The failure to appoint more women to the Cabinet and as Junior Ministers is a missed opportunity, and there is more work to be done to achieve gender equality in the Dáil, according to Labour Seanad Leader Ivana Bacik. Senator Bacik was speaking after Taoiseach Micheál Martin appointed 17 Ministers of State, only three of whom are women.
Senator Bacik said:
“The failure by the Government to appoint more women as Junior Ministers is disappointing, especially given that only four women have been appointed as full members of Cabinet. The Taoiseach should have sought to appoint a gender balanced team to reflect the broader makeup of society.
“I have welcomes the appointment of nine women to the Seanad out of the 11 Taoiseach’s nominees, and am delighted that women now constitute 40% of Senators.
“However, only 22 per cent of TDs are women. There has effectively been no increase on the gains in women’s Dáil representation made in the 2016 General Election, the first in which quotas were applied, when we saw women’s representation increase significantly from 16% to 22%. It is disappointing that this was not built upon by political parties. In future, as the quota rises to 40% in 2023, we must ensure that parties put forward women as candidates in winnable seats and that the minimum quota is not seen as a maximum target.”