Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Saying today that there was a time when women could not vote, same-sex marriage was not allowed and slavery was legal seems insane in our modern world. Things that are now normal and taken for granted were unheard of 100 years ago, yet there are things that are still perceived to be normal that in 50 years will seem to be insane. In the 100 years since women won the right to vote, there have been millions on millions of stories of strong women forging the way ahead, fighting for equality of treatment, thought and action. Today wives, daughters, aunts, mothers, grandmothers and sisters are still fighting and it is not for special treatment but for the same treatment. In the #MeToo campaign women are simply asking for decency in thought, treatment, action and opportunities.

Recently, while carrying a large amount of baggage outside this very building in heading to celebrate Constance Markievicz, I was having trouble in closing the car door. A man who was walking by helped me to close it. I did not get to thank him, not because he had helped a woman but because he had helped a human being who needed help. He helped me having seen the packages and a hand scrambling for the door. He treated me in the same way he would have liked to be treated and it occurred to me how unusual it was that this had happened.

We must celebrate women and their stories such as those of Constance Markievicz who was the first ever female MP to be elected, who as an Irish Republican chose not to take her seat, who later served as Minister for Labour in the First Dáil and who was a founding member of Fianna Fáil in 1926. There were Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and her literal glass breaking at Dublin Castle, the then seat of British power in Ireland, and her granddaughter Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington who won her case at the Equality Tribunal almost 100 years later in 2014. We recall the stories of Kathleen Lynn, the chief medical officer during the 1916 Easter Rising; Rosie Hackett, the long-time trade unionist, and the nurse Margaret Keogh who was the first female casualty in the conflict. They were trailblazers, not just because they were women but also because they had seen an injustice and sought to put it right.

In the 100 years since that milestone it is appalling that some changes have not yet come. Just under one third of the Members of this Chamber are female, less than in the other House. The recently appointed Taoiseach actually lightened the female loading in the Cabinet. In Ireland today women are not equal. They are called love, darling and sweetheart and often talked over, talked down to and sometimes taken for fools. This inequality is reflected in boardrooms, managerial positions and, worst of all, pay levels. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 should serve as a reminder of how far we have actually not come and the mountains we still have to climb.

Fianna Fáil is actively seeking equality in every sector. We seek an Ireland in which one can be what one wants to be, regardless of gender, orientation, place of birth or bank balance. We are committed to addressing issues such as the gender pay gap, the barriers to female political participation and expanding boardroom membership for women. I applaud the brave Irish women who take a stand to represent the people. I encourage more and more of them to walk these halls, speak loudly and clearly, represent women and men, old and young, fight injustices, root out inequality and be taken seriously.

There has been much talk of the 40% increase in female representation in Parliament since 2011. It was brought about by the introduction of gender quotas, which allowed for a party's State funding to be cut by one half, unless 30% of its general election candidates were women and 30% were men. I suggest we have worked hard. While we have worked hard, I encourage more women to become involved. It is not about men or women but about the work women could do. This is crucial. For real change to happen, we have to begin again and begin with children. Just as the colour of one's skin no more matters than the make of one's coat in terms of one's ability to do the job, it should not matter that I am a woman. How I do my job is what should matter, which is why I think the landscape has to change fundamentally. We should not have to create a female friendly society in which women can run for office. A woman should be able to run for office because she would be good at the job. There should be no special treatment, just reward for a job well done, regardless of gender. Cultural barriers must be addressed through the education system, civic education programmes and voter education initiatives. A review of fathers' rights and paternity leave should also be undertaken in order that children will not always be seen as an issue for mothers only. There should be equality wherever we turn in this land for us to honour properly those who fought for us 100 years ago. I should be able to tell my story because I have a story to tell, not just because I am a woman.

This is all about women. I am proud to be a Senator and represent the women of Ireland. I am proud that some day I will be able to tell my story and that I am fighting for women to have equal rights. We do not have equal rights. Things have not changed much. They have changed to some extent and we have to welcome the changes made, but there needs to be much more. I know that we will fight harder as women here because we are workers, dedicated and proud to be Irish.