Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan. I wish everybody in the Chamber a very happy International Women's Day. Today is a day to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness of discrimination and drive gender parity. I pay tribute to my female colleagues in this Chamber and all the females who have gone before us. It is encouraging to see the number of women elected to the Dáil continue to grow and to see more women in ministerial positions and positions of leadership in political parties. I hope our presence will continue to encourage more young women to choose a career in politics. Having all voices and both perspectives represented at the decision-making table is vital.

From healthcare to business, education, social attitudes and the scourge of violence against women, there are a massive number of women’s issues we should shine a light on today and every day. No doubt they will all be represented in today’s debate. The theme of this year's International Women's Day celebration is “Embracing equity”. I was at the Lucan women’s network on Monday when they explored this theme and its meaning in reality. They found equity is about fairness and justice. Equality often means providing the same for all, whereas equity is about recognising that we do not all start from the same place. They had vibrant discussions around that and it was great to see that level of engagement about practical things that happen every day.

Having come from the corporate world into the Dáil, addressing gender equality in said world is something I am particularly passionate about. It is not about giving jobs to people who do not deserve them. Far from it. It is about equity and about recognising that, on many occasions, women do not start on a level playing field with their male counterparts. That is why I was delighted to have my Private Members' Bill to introduce gender quotas at boardroom level accepted by the Government on Second Stage. Earlier, I was pleased to hear that the Minister and the Taoiseach will be advancing gender balance in boardrooms in the coming year or two by means of quotas imposed through legislation. That is critical.

Education, childcare, pregnancy, maternity leave, confidence and imposter syndrome are barriers when it comes to advancing women's careers in the workplace. They can significantly hamper their trajectory to upper management and board-level positions too. The reality is that such an occurrence does not seem to impact on men in the same way as it impacts on women.

International research shows that gender quotas can and, indeed, do change the pattern of replacing like with like and getting more of the same on corporate boards, by giving women the opportunity to be considered and, in turn, that changes the culture at the very top. It gives women a voice at the decision-making table and generates a trickle-down effect benefitting women at all levels of all organisations. It also has the added benefit of creating female role models in business, of which we need more and more. Most companies, with some effort, will find there are women out there who are just as qualified, willing and able to serve on corporate boards, as their male counterparts. They will bring with them a level of different perspective, of diversity of thought and experience.

The importance of female role models in everyday life cannot be overstated. On that note, I wish to say that young girls in Ireland, growing up with dreams of becoming a footballer have excellent role models in the Irish women's national team. I was delighted to see that Vera Pauw was announced as the grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day, along with Diane Caldwell and former international, Paula Gorham. I thank them for the work they do to raise the profile of women in sport. I opened an AstroTurf pitch at St. Francis's football club in my area, which is out recruiting girls to join their team. Those girls are inspired by the Irish women's national football team.

There are too many key areas to focus on in the few minutes I have, but I will mention women's healthcare and access to services, because we need to do more in that area. We are making great strides, but we have to continue to deliver and we need to invest in menopause clinics, endometriosis supports, gynaecological care, free contraception and abortion care. When it comes to abortion, it is so important that we know and accept that there are still counties in which no abortion services are available. That needs to be addressed and changed. We know the reservation among many GPs in providing this service often stems from the fear of protests and intimidation from anti-choice groups, outside their practices. Safe access zone legislation needs to be enacted as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, there are still an awful lot of women who are leaving our country for abortions abroad. We, as a society and a country, voted to ensure that did not need to happen. I know the Minister for Health is considering a review of the legislation and I hope the review can be published as soon as possible. Since its formation, this Government has made clear that a priority for us is tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I commend the Ministers, Deputies McEntee and Harris, on their work on this. While I welcome the intention to introduce paid domestic violence leave, it is vital this leave is paid at a higher rate and not at the rate of sick pay. This is not sick leave. It is a time for a person experiencing domestic violence and trauma to get out of an abusive relationship. It needs to be paid at a higher rate. I hope that will be considered.

I have raised early pregnancy loss leave in this Chamber on a number of occasions. I commend Deputy Bacik on everything she has done on this, because I know she had a Bill on it. I also commend Bank of Ireland on its range of brand new family matters policies. It has introduced early pregnancy loss, foster care, fertility and surrogacy leave and extended breastfeeding breaks. We need more companies to follow exactly what Bank of Ireland is doing.

I will mention the painting Her Surrender by Sinéad Guckian, who was here with us earlier today, which is displayed in Leinster House. It recaptures the famous 1916 Rising surrender photograph taken to include Elizabeth Farrell, the Irish nurse and member of Cumann na mBan, who was selected by Pádraig Pearse to deliver his surrender note in the Easter Rising. It is a powerful work that highlights the often-shadowed role of women in our history. I also welcome the unveiling today of busts of two trailblazing women and former Presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. It is great to see more women reflected on the walls around here and I hope there will be many more of them.

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