A new ‘Women in Politics’ section has been launched on South Dublin County Council’s website to support women in getting involved in local government. This is just one part of efforts being made by South Dublin County Council to support women currently serving and to provide resources for women considering going for the local election in 2024. A ‘Women in Politics’ campaign is being launched across the Council’s social media channels in 2021 whilst research into gender representation in the 2019 local elections is also being carried out.
Under-representation of women occurs across many professions and is not just a local or national issue in political life. According to the UN, women are under-represented in local government globally with only 36% of local elected members being female. In Ireland, the national figure is 23% so the country is well below the global average. South Dublin County Council itself is above the national and global average with approximately 39% of current elected members being women.
The ‘Women in Politics’ launch is the latest gender-based initiative from South Dublin County Council. In 2019, the Council became the first local authority in the state to provide free sanitary products in public toilets at Council offices in Tallaght and Clondalkin. In 2020, a Safety and Inclusivity Study for Public Spaces in Clondalkin research piece was completed that looked at gender-based violence in public spaces and made recommendations on improvements.
South Dublin County Council is committed to encouraging women from all backgrounds to get involved in local politics and will continue to add information, resources, studies etc to help women run for election. These resources will continuously be added as they build towards the local elections in 2024.
