Cork woman among graduates of programme addressing barriers for women in politics

The Fine Gael Women’s Network held a graduation ceremony for their Aspiring Candidate Workshop, a mentorship programme designed to support women with political aspirations, recently. 

The course was designed by Fine Gael Women’s Network leader, Lavinia Duggan and Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Officer, Deirdre Campbell, to address the key barriers to women’s participation in politics ahead of the 2024 local elections.

Only 226 female candidates were elected to local councils in 2019, 24% of the total councillors, and currently, just 22.5% of TDs and Senators in Dáil Éireann are women.

Twenty-three women who have completed the Fine Gael mentoring programme have been selected by the party to run in the upcoming local elections in June, bringing the party’s current total of women candidates to 84.

The programme 

Amongst them is Imelda Daly from Glanmire, who is running for local election for the party in the Cork City North East constituency.

She told The Echo, “I’ve never involved myself in formal politics, so when Fine Gael announced the programme, I jumped at the opportunity of meeting like-minded people putting themselves out there as a voice for change.

“We looked at our core values, our strengths, how to be authentic and silence your inner critic, because a lot of women suffer from imposter syndrome, and learning to say no because a lot of us are people pleasers.

“We also learned how to best navigate politics when there’s an awful lot of negativity towards women in politics online, they can focus on what suit we’re wearing, how we’ve done our hair, are we wearing make-up rather than what we’re doing or saying.

“The sessions allowed us to see what we are capable of because as women, we’re coming at it from a different point, with empathy and with resilience.

“There was women from all different backgrounds, the LGBTQ community, a variety of ethnic backgrounds, women who were disabled, domestic and sexual abuse survivors – the group was indicative of the society we live in today and it was amazing to meet all these strong women.” 

Representation

Daly said that she has been interested in politics since she was a teenager, saying, “I’m from Glanmire, I was born there and am living here with my family now, I’ve seen it change exponentially over the last 40 years - there’s not a lot to do here for young people and the park is abysmal, there’s an awful lot that’s needed here.

“There’s issues accessing narrow roads, and no lighting in some places which leave it pitch black and quite unsafe at night, you see runners and walkers with headlamps on which shouldn’t happen in 2024 when we’re in the city."

As a teacher, she says that she sees what needs to be done from children's, young people's and parents’ point of view, as well as from her mother who is very active in the elderly community.

Daly concluded, “It’s important that women are represented on local council, not just because we’re women, but because we’re capable in what we’re doing, we’re just as capable as our male counterpoints and we should be able to work together in harmony for the benefit of our local communities.”