Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our witnesses for attending. We could be here all day discussing this issue. I am not sure what progress we would make but I am sure we could be here all day. In her presentation, Dr. O'Sullivan stated that women have never been more at risk of being left out. Never be afraid to say it, say it repeatedly, say it loudly and say it often because it is absolutely true. I am also a member of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. When Covid hit, the first people affected were predominantly women. We were most affected because our workplaces were the ones that closed down first. We then went to working from home with childcare closed so we were working and caring for children on top of other responsibilities. When our friends' workplaces reopened but childcare services did not, we were minding their children as well because we were in bubbles so we have been the most disproportionately affected.

As I said at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and this committee, it is my firm belief that if we take any retrograde steps in terms of the progress we have made for women's rights and equality, we will leave this world a much poorer place than it was beforehand. What we have seen in the aftermath of Covid in terms of gender equality and women's rights needs to be the catalyst and not the excuse to go backwards. We know what needs to happen. We have never been given a better opportunity to make it happen than we have as we emerge from Covid.

I will return to intersectionality concerning challenges around access. During our first session this morning, I asked the Minister why no all-girl DEIS schools were piloting the new computer science programme. We were told about reports, reviews, initiatives and how schools were not putting themselves forward. I know that my own constituency has very good quality clubs such as CoderDojo, science clubs and astronomy and space-based clubs. They are wonderful. However, if there is going to be a delay in the State providing access to certain subjects in secondary school because no resource is every delivered overnight and the only option to bridge that gap is one that puts an additional financial burden on the family, how do we get around that? How do we help hose who are talented and want to be involved in STEM?

No child I know does not know something about STEM. They just do not recognise it as STEM. How many kitchens have been destroyed in the making of slime in recent years? How many volcanoes have erupted in bathrooms? This is science. We just do not recognise it as such. How many bug hotels were built over the past number of years and put out in back gardens? Coming up with that design is engineering. It is not that I do not believe there is talent there and a pool to work with. I am just concerned about the delivery of additional resources - even classroom spaces - for engineering, woodwork or science subjects and meeting the needs that are there. How do we bridge that gap? Do we need to provide additional financial resources to make these courses less expensive for parents? That still does not sit very easily with me. I am interested in hearing the witnesses' opinions on that.

Regarding recommendation 31, "If you can see it, you can be it", we had this conversation with other witnesses who have appeared before us. There is a very real need to see those from under-represented communities, whether based on their racial or economic background or whatever the case may be, in the national media. This needs to be coupled with other things. Look at where we are having this conversation today. This building is male-dominated. That is just a fact. We have not made much progress over the past number of elections so there is a body of work to be done everywhere. There is a responsibility on the corporate side but also on the influencing side. If we think of the social media influencers we see at the moment, the majority of them are female and most of what they are seeking to influence does not in any way, shape or form - I do not know how to put this diplomatically and I am struggling to find a diplomatic term for it - influence younger women to focus more on an academic or research career choice. It is wonderful to see people going off on holidays.

Lord knows I am looking to going forward to going on holidays and sending a few photographs. How do we change that? How do we get people such as Dr. O'Sullivan, Ms Sheridan and Dr. Corcoran and their work out into the ether and the various forms of media?