Professor Fidelma Ashe:

On behalf of the research team, I thank the committee for the invitation to present aspects of our research here today. Constitutional change offers opportunities to advance gender equality. The right for women to be included in conversations and debate about constitutional change should be protected by government. It is a right now enshrined in international law and we can look to the example of UN Resolution 1325.

Our research facilitated women's inclusion in discussions about constitutional change on the island of Ireland. It was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Department of Foreign Affairs. We provided safe spaces for women to discuss constitutional change using community education tools. We conducted ten workshops in Northern Ireland with women and ten workshops in the Republic of Ireland with women. Our participants had diverse political identifications and were from different backgrounds. What they shared was a common goal in wanting to have their say on constitutional change and to have their voices heard.