Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The marking of International Women's Day becomes more important and gains more attention with each passing year. That is a positive, yet it is also a concern. What should be a day of celebration across the globe to mark the achievements of women is instead an opportunity to highlight the ongoing obstacles they face in their everyday lives.

These are obstacles that governments and society in general should have taken greater steps to address.

International Women’s Day became official in 1975 when the United Nations started celebrating the day. The first theme adopted was in 1996 when Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future was chosen as the aim of the growing movement. The intervening 26 years since that very first theme have seen progress but they have by no means seen the achievement of true equality for women. Today the motto is calling to break the bias, the bias that still exists. Women have a very clear message that has remained consistent. They simply want fairness and the equality. They are not asking to take over the world. They are asking to take their rightful place in it and are asking that their contribution be considered equal to that of men, that their involvement be valued equally and that their participation be equally acknowledged in all walks of life. Women are asking for respect, for protection from harm, to be valued, and asking for change to happen. They are not asking men to make these things happen for them but are asking for men’s help to make it happen.

It is not good enough that in the year 2022 there is still a gender pay gap of 14% in this country. It is not good enough that for every euro that a man earns a woman will receive 86 cent for the same work in many areas of employment.

It is not good enough that women do not have peace of mind to live their lives free from fear of harm. How many women in any part of our country would confidently go out alone after dark? This freedom is denied to women because we tolerate it despite constantly decrying it. We tolerate laws that are not a sufficient deterrent to prevent men from intimidating, harassing and attacking them, or worse. The vast majority of men do not live with this fear and women should not be expected to live with it either.

These are just two basic examples that happen in everyday life where change could happen. This is change that could be brought about by men and women working together, which could bring about a difference and could pave the way for further change.

This is not a topic we should discuss in this House simply because today is International Women’s Day. The points raised by everyone addressing this topic are the everyday realities of life for women across the country. They are not just the issues of International Women’s Day but are the issues of a lifetime for women down through history who have had to fight for equality, to be heard and to fight for fairness. They should not have to fight or demand and, in fact, they should not even have to ask.

The question of lack of equality between men and women should not even exist. Our ancestors allowed it to take hold and subsequent generations allowed it to continue. We must be the generation which wipes it out.

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