Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and given that we are on the subject of women, I start by acknowledging the Leas-Cheann Comhairle herself, as our first ever female holder of that position. It is an important role, is not an easy task and is not one that I envy. I was thinking about this point as we were speaking earlier.

Women, in general, play a crucial role not only in their communities but in every household and most people agree that women are the backbone of many households and communities. This has been shown up even more so during the Covid-19 pandemic. We know that integrating gender-focused Government policy and a focus on women’s self-reliance and empowerment leads to better humanitarian outcomes for all and leads to a better society.

A recent research report by UN Women found that when women are provided with direct financial or resource assistance, they enjoyed greater control over household spending decisions and improved results for all family members. It found the benefits of gender-focused action by industry and Government far outweighs the cost.

Ironically, 2020 was the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration which set out to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity. However, what unfolded due to the pandemic was a deepening of pre-existing inequalities and women’s workloads increased where our frontline workers are mainly women. As has been mentioned by some of the Ministers, the homeschooling and childcare burden, in general, falls to women and this has happened to an even greater extent during the pandemic.

There are endless reports, research papers, books and academic research into inequality among men and women and while many of these examine historical and continual inequality across society, there is a growing consensus that greater gender equality has taken a big step back during the pandemic.

Women, due to their high numbers in caring and nursing roles, are suffering the effects of what is being called "long covid" at a greater rate than men. A recent report suggested that 76% of our healthcare workers are women. It is clear that women are at increased risk of infection and loss of livelihood where existing trends suggest that they have less access to health supports. The rise in domestic violence during this public health crisis, which we have spoken about on a number of times in this Chamber, is very worrying. Women who are struggling and living in unbearable domestic violence situations or in an environment of severe coercive control are doubly affected as all normal social outlets have been closed.

I have also been alarmed by the impact of Covid-19 and of the restrictions on women who are caring for vulnerable children and children with additional needs and I am the glad to hear that was also mentioned in the Minister of State's speech. They have carried an unbearable burden during the lockdown.

An interesting study was carried out recently by BMJ Global Health into how various leaders around the world have responded to the pandemic. In particular, they looked at the different approach taken by men and women leaders. The results found, which would not be a surprise to any woman, that female leaders were really aware and talking about a wider range of impacts on social welfare, mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence issues within the context of the public health emergency.

As the end of Covid-19 is hopefully in sight we must be cognisant that any recovery must lead to a more equal Ireland and one that is more resilient to future crises. Government policy and future emergency measures must address public health gender gaps. It is crucial that all policy responses place women and girls, their inclusion, representation, rights, social and economic outcomes, equality and protection, at the heart of our policy response. Going forward, women’s equal representation in all public health emergency response planning and decision-making must be paramount. A priority for Government must be that we address the inequality of pay in the care economy.

One sector in which women fill the majority of roles is the childcare and early years sector and I have consistently called for equality of pay and better working conditions for these professionals.

I strongly believe that Covid-19 has not only been a challenge for our healthcare system but also a test for us as a wider society.

Our future response will be significantly weakened if we do not factor in the ways in which inequalities have made all of us more vulnerable to the impacts of the public health emergency. We cannot choose simply to repeat past policies and fail to use this moment to rebuild a more equal, inclusive and resilient society for all.

If anything positive is to come from Covid, I hope it is that we learn something. We have greater awareness now of domestic violence and the potential supports that are there but these services need to be supported. In general, we need to look at how unequal our society is and ensure that gender equality is at the heart of policymaking and that we do not pay lip service to it.

The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, mentioned that it is very difficult for women to make it into this forum. It is very difficult even to make it into local politics let alone national politics and then to remain involved. It is important that we have these ongoing discussions and that it is not a box ticking exercise because we are all thinking about International Women's Day. This is the last item on the agenda on a Thursday evening. We have to wonder how important it really is, even though it is extremely important. It is important that it is not a case that we have had the discussion and we all move on but that we learn, not only from our discussions but from all of the negatives of Covid-19 and how it has shown how unequal society really is for women, particularly those in low paid sectors and those on the front line.

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