Analysis Reveals Irish Parliament has Lowest Female Representation in Western Europe

Bloomberg has published one Inter-Parliamentary Union data analysis that labelled Irish parliament as ‘worst for gender diversity in western Europe’. It also reveals that the new parliament of Ireland possess female parliamentarians’ lowest proportion in western Europe.

It indicates towards a country that elected its first ever woman president over 30 years back that trail behind when it comes to women’s inclusion in politics.

As per the analysis, during November election, 44 seats were occupied by women out of 174, exemplifying a representation of slightly over 25 percent as compared to the 37 percent of western European with female parliamentarians.

The director of council Orla O’Connor stated, “The results show that, in isolation, the gender quota will not be enough to achieve equal representation for women. There is evidence that many women were added late to the ticket to make up the gender quota. We are calling on all political parties to ensure women candidates are selected as early as possible to ensure they have sufficient time, support and resources for their election campaign.”

The former Chile President Michelle Bachelet added, “Gender isn’t the only example of the disconnect between politics and people, but it is a particularly stark one. How can our system of representation neglect half of the people it is meant to represent?”