Professor Fidelma Ashe:

The good aspect is that we do have experience of how to get from 14% to over 30%, which is the tipping point. However, we really want to have 50%. Progress has been made in the jurisdiction. In southern Ireland, many women feel disappointed that the rate of representation by women in the Parliament is so low, at 23% or 24%. Not to put too fine a point on it, that is dire by international standards. Therefore, considerable work needs to be done in this area.

Let me draw on some work I have done and also on work by colleagues who examined women’s representation. We have to start with the parties and who they are selecting for safe seats. One can twin and have women’s lists and various mechanisms that the parties themselves can use. The parties must enter a period of reflection on the emphasis they are going to place on, the importance they are going to attach to and how rigorously and aggressively they will drive forward the programme to increase women’s representation. Research in Stormont indicates voters do like women candidates. In this regard, we should remember who we have at the moment. Therefore, we know it is not necessarily voters who are resistant to women. We really need to start with the parties and ascertain how they are fielding women and the kinds of political experiences they are opening up for them. In my view – this will not be popular – parties must not wait for women to come to them; they need to actively and aggressively go out to women and encourage them to enter political life.

If they feel there are women who already have the necessary skills, be they from a business background or another suitable background, they should act on that. That is really the only way to do it. As Ms Gildernew knows, there are mechanisms that can be used to increase women’s representation.