Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As a TD, I have had the opportunity to visit many local schools. One thing I love doing is meeting a politics and society class and having an opportunity to discuss with them the topics they are studying and what is happening in our country. One such visit has always stuck with me. We ended up discussing the work-life balance Act and the extra rights it provided through domestic violence leave and extra time for breastfeeding breaks, proposals for which we would expect broad support. I remember a young man asking me in a very sceptical tone what the point of all this was. He asked why we even needed equality laws for women. Thankfully, there was uproar in the class at the statement and a robust debate followed between the students. His question always stuck with me. What had happened to this young man? What had he been listening to that had shaped his world view in this particular way? He was not alone in that view in the room, and we know that he is not alone in society with regard to this view.

We see these same attitudes about women and minorities being echoed more loudly every day. We see them in the online comments sections, in group chats, and in the voice of those right-wing influencers who have been mentioned, such as Andrew Tait, Jordan Peterson, Theo Von and others, who market their ideas as a type of common sense but are actually promoting homophobia, misogyny, transphobia and bigotry. Here is the thing - that road does not lead anywhere good. It does not lead to happiness, success or being the big man. It leads to anger, isolation and resentment. As we know, this anger is eventually fostered by some political actors to get people to vote against their own interests. We see this already happening in democracies around the world.

My message on International Women's Day is directed towards men. It is that we need to watch out for each other. We need to call this stuff out when we see it in the group chat, in the dressing room and in school. We need to challenge the jokes that are not really jokes. We need to challenge the harmless banter that we might normally let go unchecked. Whether it is misogyny, homophobia, bigotry or transphobia, it is all rooted in the same world view. If we want a better world for everybody, we cannot expect women to be the only people fighting for it.

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