Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On this, International Women's Day, I will dedicate this contribution to the extraordinary women I am lucky enough to know, that is, my mum, sisters, fiancé and friends who, every day, have to work much harder for equal recognition. I make special mention of my amazing sister, Anne, who raised a family and got a degree in business, with her youngest baby in tow in a baby sling, when there was no crèche or childminding facilities available. She has had to hold down a job and battle cancer. She is the most incredible inspiration to me. She has been the biggest and best influence in my life and the lives of so many others. I will also make special mention of the all-female team with which I work back in west Cork, in the Bandon and Clonakilty offices. I do not thank them enough and I need to show them more gratitude for the extraordinary work they do. The team deals with constituents on a daily basis, with dedication and compassion, and they are making a real difference for those constituents. They are helping some constituents who are in very tough and difficult situations, but the team is always there. Timothea, Lynda and Therese are extraordinary and we would all be lost without them.

We hear the same speeches and contributions every International Women's Day. We hear about the extraordinary achievements of women in Ireland and, yet, we are still miles away from true equality when it comes to women in society and the workplace. We are still, at least, a generation from fully closing the gender pay gap. That is borne out in the statistics. Amazingly, women hold only four of the CEO positions in the 36 publicly listed companies in Ireland. That figure is absolutely minuscule. There are still companies with all-male board members and, as was stated earlier, only 23% of the membership of this House is women. We have miles to go. International Women's Day cannot become a groundhog day, where we hear the same contributions. We need to put these words into action, because it is very simple: with women in leadership roles, the world is a much better place. The sooner we realise it and change that to make it a reality, the better for everyone in society.

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