Ms Alice-Mary Higgins:

We should not rely solely on a general rise in employment levels to lift jobless households. We do not necessarily want to restore the current level but to push for more women's participation. We do not seek to replicate or move backwards but to move forward and ensure we are increasing not just employment but equal engagement in employment for men and women. That means that as well as tackling joblessness, policies must ensure labour market contact and engagement by women by facilitating and supporting them. There is a long-term scarring effect due to distance from the labour market for a period of time and the legacy of economic inequality with which many women are still living, as described by Senator Moloney.