I wish to send my best wishes to the National Women’s Council on the
establishment of this timely and exciting all-island women’s forum. This forum,
made up of 26 diverse women from across the island of Ireland, will be an opportunity
for co-operation, dialogue and the powerful sharing of experience, ideas and solidarities.
Today at your first meeting, I want to wish you every success in your deliberations as you discuss
women and peacebuilding, women in leadership, political participation, ethnic minority voices,
the gendered impacts of Covid-19, poverty and rural disparity, the urgency of climate action
and the need to tackle violence against women everywhere and in all its forms.
I have no doubt that the 26 women who will lead this dialogue
will bring great collective and individual capacity and insight to this historic task.
Regarding women in leadership, women are still underrepresented in the most important decision
making spaces. That is not only a waste of talent, it makes for poor decisions.
It can mean women’s lives and experiences are less likely to be reflected in policies and strategies
and those policies are less likely to work for everyone in society.
Gender quotas for candidates did encourage more women to run for Dáil Éireann, but the numbers of
women in national politics are still far too low. There is however a growing momentum for women’s
political participation at national and local level and another positive thing has been the
active cooperation between women’s parliamentary caucuses on both sides of the border,
We must ensure that women are empowered to engage meaningfully at all levels,
and in all aspects of society to have their voices heard in participatory democratic processes.
And that must mean all women. Because, while women as a whole are underrepresented,
women from an ethnic minority can also face further layers of discrimination.
They are too often pushed to the margins of political participation by formal as well as
informal barriers: formal, in terms of electoral registration and migration, or citizenship status,
or informal, as women face obstacles around language,
social exclusion, lack of information or discrimination.
Participation in political processes is a fundamental human right and essential to the
functioning of inclusive democracy. Diversity in society can and should be a source of strength.
Forums such as this are an opportunity to discuss different women’s experience,
share ideas and perspectives, deepen understanding and build peace.
The voices and vision of women have played a crucial role in peacebuilding on this island
and in so many other parts of the world.
UN resolution 1325 emphasises the importance of women’s participation in formal peace processes
and the ongoing grassroots work of so many women in conflict resolution
and community building must also be visible and valued. Even in the most difficult circumstances,
women have found ways to repair and strengthen the links within and between communities.
Integrated education can, I believe, achieve the kind of inclusion
and solidarity that Ireland can enjoy, and plant the seeds of a more resilient and permanent peace.
We now live in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic space and integrated education
fosters environments where all traditions are respected
and included. The Good Friday Agreement set out ambitions to see integrated education developed.
Polls show that the majority of parents in Northern Ireland and the Republic
would favour integrated education. The number of integrated schools north and south have increased
and the Dept. of Education are favourable , so it is short sighted not to remove obstacles and
to instead facilitate the desirable achievement of integrated education at a fast rate of progress.
If children learn and play together they will not learn to see other children as the “other”,
as “us” and “ them”.
Peace requires ongoing work,
cooperation and vision and I believe this forum will contribute to that.
One area where women North and South of the border have campaigned in solidarity in recent years
is in relation to health and reproductive rights,
and they have demanded and won change and progress for a new generation of women and girls.
However over the last year, COVID-19 has offered new challenges in terms of women’s health and
equality. The pandemic has had a particular impact on women. Women are disproportionately
represented as essential frontline workers in areas like health, retail and social services,
and it is largely women who have carried the extra pressures of school and childcare closures.
This past year has brought into sharp focus the vital contribution that so many low paid women
workers make to our society and the courage and generosity of those who provide essential services
in our hospitals, our schools, our shops, and out in our wider communities.
We owe them a debt of gratitude but must not forget
that gratitude can never be a substitute for adequate pay, security of employment,
fair working conditions, and the dignity that is the right of all workers.
Too often the work done by women has been under appreciated and under paid.
Some of the longest and strongest links of solidarity between women
across this island have been through trade unions and activists from the time of Winifred Carney
to Ines McCormack and today.
Decent work and universal basic services will no doubt be discussed by this forum,
alongside other society structures that contribute to poverty and economic inequality for women,
including the consistent undervaluing of care.
Another issue which been thrown into a sharp focus by Covid-19
has been the appalling increase in domestic and intimate partner violence.
Violence against women and girls, including domestic violence,
is one of the most widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violations
in our world today, and remains shockingly prevalent in Ireland, where one-in-four women
have suffered abuse by a current or former partner. Every opportunity must be taken to
demand stronger focus, better policies and more resources to end abuse everywhere it occurs.
As this forum highlights, we live on a shared island, but we also live on a shared planet – one
which faces immense shared challenges. The degradation of biodiversity and brutal
impacts of climate change represent an existential danger for us all.
There is still hope that if we take the necessary urgent action the worst of this
danger may be averted, and we can chart a better future for our planet and its people.
One source of inspiration and energy as we face this immense challenge is the historic moment
where 200 countries signed up to the United Nations sustainable development goals in 2015.
These are the 17 commandments for our time, that set out a vision for how we could end poverty,
discrimination and inequality and bring about a more sustainable and equal future
where all can flourish. One of the most important requirements for the
achievement of these objectives is the empowerment and emancipation of women.
I hope that in your deliberations you will draw deeply on the immense international work
which has gone into the Sustainable Development Goals and their targets, indicators and vision.
In conclusion, I commend the National Women’s Council on this great initiative and wish all
the participants success, fulfilment and new friendships. I look forward to hearing how
your discussions have progressed at the end of the pilot year, when your forum
will have set out a path for further all-island dialogue and cooperation between women.
Thank you, and much love
Beir beannacht.