‘We want to level the playing field’: Women in Cork urged to think about running for election

Of Cork City Council’s 31 elected representatives, just six are female, and of Cork County Council’s 55 members, only 18 are female.

And while the next local elections don’t take place until 2029, a group called See Her Elected (SHE) is already urging women in Cork to start thinking how they could change those statistics.

SHE is an award-winning programme, under Longford Women’s Link, supporting women in rural Ireland nationally to become politically active, and has just launched a new guidebook, A Guide to Running in the 2029 Local Elections.

It provides a step-by-step roadmap for women considering running for election in 2029, offering practical advice, campaign planning tools, and insights drawn from the lived experiences of women candidates across rural Ireland.

Everything from strategies, to election finances, public speaking, online safety and more – it’s all covered in the new guide and in See Her Elected workshops.

Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager of SHE, said the guide is “designed to demystify the process of running for election and to make political participation accessible to women in every corner of rural Ireland”.

“We want women to know that there is a pathway for them — one that is supported, inclusive, and informed by the experience of those who’ve gone before,” she said.

In last year’s local elections, SHE supported 35% of the 679 female candidates who ran for election.

Of the 247 women elected, 99 of them had availed of its support. While the percentage of women elected did not increase, the numbers running were the highest in Irish history, which is a positive step.

SHE’S digital media and CRM co-ordinator, Cork woman Elaine Duggan, outlined the Cork situation more starkly.

“The total number of candidates who ran in the 2024 local elections in Cork city was 76, 27 of these were women, which means that 36% of the candidates were women.

“However, only five of them were elected – so just 16% of the seats in the local election were won by women and no constituency elected more than one woman.

“In County Hall, 18 of the 55 councillors are women, almost 33%, after 16 women were elected to Cork County Council, making up 29% of the seats. Two women were co-opted after the General Election, onto Cork County Council, increasing the numbers to 18.”

Elaine highlighted SHE’s free online election workshops, which will begin in January, 2026, as a good starting point for anyone who’d like more information.

“The workshops are open to women who are curious about how local politics works, thinking about running for election, or keen to get involved in another woman’s campaign,” she said.

SHE specifically wants women in rural Ireland to reach out to them, as that is largely where the problem of under-representation on county councils can be found - despite women often being to the fore in doing the voluntary work that keeps communities going.

“But whether you’re just politically curious, inspired by recent events, or determined to run for office — these workshops are for you. Politics needs you, so start with SHE. We’ll show you exactly what’s involved,” urged Dr Maher.

“Our advice and workshops are designed to level the playing field between the mostly male councillors seeking (re-)election and the women running to bring their expertise, lived experience, and community commitment right into the council chamber.”

But what of the barriers facing women, who may want to enter local politics?

Dr Maher said: “Women lead busy lives and often undertake the majority of unpaid care work in families. This, and the issues like lacking confidence, and being outside of political circles are often cited as barriers to women running for election. Women tend to wait to be asked to run, and that ask can come late in the day, meaning that women don’t have enough time to put together a winning campaign. In See Her Elected, we are asking women right now to join us and find out what’s involved.

“The public are constantly offered opinions on how unpleasant politics is and the negative side of putting yourself out there. We hear less about the positives – programmes like See Her Elected who are holding out a hand to women in rural Ireland and saying your voice is largely missing from county council discussions. Come and join us and see what’s involved in running to be a county councillor.”

The guidebook launch comes after a particularly busy period for the SHE team, which saw them travel to a number of international conferences in recent weeks.

Communications and Development Manager, Megan Flynn Dixon said: “The team are keen to learn how to offer the best possible support to women in rural Ireland who are interested in local politics. They have been actively reaching out to learn from similar organisations around the world, with attendance this month at the 2nd International Meeting of Elected Women in Mallorca and Better Politics Week in Berlin.”

Ms Flynn Dixon spoke about the shared experience of women globally: “Women are uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on local politics in every part of the world. We are connected to our communities through our families, our friends, and we can identify what needs to be done to make things better for the people we care about. Yes politics is tough, but being excluded from decision-making council chambers is tougher.”

Running from January to June, the one-hour online workshop will be repeated four times each month at different times to suit all schedules — 7am, 10am, 1pm, and 8pm. Hosted through the SHE Academy, these flexible sessions allow participants to choose the time that fits best with their lives.

• For information or to sign up to the online workshops see: www.seeherelected.ie.