Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth
Challenges Facing Women Accessing Education, Leadership and Political Roles: Discussion
Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
I look forward to seeing that report. It is going to be really interesting. I am angling for an invitation to the launch of the report.
I am a great believer in education being key to all groups and getting out of whatever situation people are in, especially in terms of people making a better life for themselves and their families. That is paramount. I am someone who left school early and went back to education later on in life so I know the power of education. Without accessing education later on in life, there is no way I would be sitting here today, so I know the power involved. I also know the barriers that women in particular face in regard to education. When I did my final course in An Cosán, there was a sign on the wall saying that to educate a man is to educate an individual but to educate a woman is to educate a community. It always stuck with me how powerful that was. As legislators and representatives, what can we do to bring down the barriers to make it a lot easier and more accessible for women to enter education? I know the witnesses probably answered this earlier on.