Female politicians face 'shocking' levels of sexism from male colleagues, report finds

WOMEN in politics in Ireland face "shocking" levels of sexism from their male colleagues and from the public, a new report has found.

Women’s Collective Ireland - Limerick released their report, Addressing Sexism in Politics: Creating Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Political Spaces for Everyday Women, on October 17.

The report, a collaboration between Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) research group EDGE and the Women’s Collective Ireland - Limerick (WCI - Limerick) includes experiences of sexism that women TDs, senators and councillors have to face from their male elected colleagues, and calls for political parties and the government to do more to make politics and political spaces safer and more welcoming for women across the country. 

The report featured contributions from elected and non-elected female politicians across Ireland. They reported frequent experiences of harassment both inside and outside political spaces, online and face to face, and very often, by men they know and work with.

This extended to being physically held back by male colleagues from going to the front in events such as photo-calls, to being held forcefully by the hand and being called a ‘c***’.

Women also reported experiences of abuse online and while out canvassing, and cited a lack of support from their parties when raising these issues.

“Often the parties’ response is ‘don’t be online’,” one contributor reported.

WCI - Limerick aims to promote gender equality through our work with women who experience multiple forms of oppression. They are one of a number of local groups that fall under the Women's Collective Ireland umbrella, and were instrumental in the establishment of the Limerick Women’s Caucus in 2019, the first of its kind at a local level in the country.

The group's coordinator, Yvie Murphy, said they have spent the last year gathering the stories of women in politics and women who are interested in politics to identify "the key barriers to entering politics and how we can address them."

"Sexism in political spaces is a huge barrier for women. Some of the experiences the women TDs shared with us around how they were treated by their male counterparts shocked us. These are men we know, men we like and men we vote for".

Additionally, the report saw WCI - Limerick take a different approach to politics.

"One of the key findings from the research is that women encounter ongoing sexism in political spaces – online and face to face and this is a reason that so many women leave politics, and a reason that so many women are afraid to get involved. Everyone has a part to play in making politics and political spaces safer for women, this includes men, social media platforms and political parties," Ms Murphy continued.

"We have been creating a coalition of women who want to support a woman getting elected to Limerick Council in 2024. We are taking the male dominance and parties out of politics and putting values, safe spaces and women supporting women on their terms in."

The report, Addressing Sexism in Politics: Creating Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Political Spaces for Everyday Women, can be found on the Women’s Collective Ireland website.