Claire McGing

The Single Transferable Vote and Women's Representation in Ireland

This article employs a largely feminist-institutional framework to explore the effects of the single transferable vote (STV) on womens representation in Ireland. Considering the 2011 elections, the research finds a ‘mismatch’ between formal and informal factors in influencing female candidacy and seat-holding in Dáil Éireann and the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly. While the workings of STV are mostly ‘women-friendly’, at least in comparison with a single-seat system, political parties well placed to win multiple constituency seats are slow to recruit female candidates in reasonable numbers. Conservative party norms, systems of party competition and voter preferences for incumbency all act to suppress the election of more women Teachtaí Dála and Members of the Legislative Assembly. The key to achieving a ‘critical mass’ across the island lies in reforming internal party selection processes to accommodate better equality between the sexes.

Women and the Election

As the results of the 2011 general election flooded in on count day, it quickly transpired that significant changes to the Irish political landscape were afoot. Excited commentators could not resist using words such as ‘historic’, ‘transformative’ and ‘revolution’ to describe the unfolding drama. The Irish electorate had unleashed vengeance on its political masters and in the process had ensured that the composition of the 31st Dail would be very different from that of its predecessors. However, one constant remained — the low number of women elected to Dail Eireann.

Is Local Office a Springboard for Women to Dáil Éireann

Previous research has found the single transferable vote electoral system is relatively friendly to women candidates. Despite this, female representation in the Irish Parliament remains substantially lower than in most other democracies. Drawing on pipeline theory and localism, we assess the impact of local officeholding on the success of male and female major party candidates in the 2007 and 2011 Irish general elections. We find previous experience in local office is a key springboard to higher office for men and women, and when women serve in local government, the likelihood of election increases significantly.

Women and the Election: Assessing the Impact of Gender Quotas

This chapter analyses the impact of gender quotas on the selection and election of women in the 2016 general election. It begins by reviewing the gendered recruitment and candidate selection plans of political parties as they implemented gender quotas. This is followed by a review of women’s candidate selection, identifying the challenges and controversies that emerged as parties set about reaching the 30 per cent gender threshold. Attention is given to the election campaign to identify the presence, if any, of a gendered dimension to campaign issues. Looking at women’s electoral performance indicates that gender quotas were successful in enhancing women’s electoral prospects. The chapter concludes by profiling the women elected and suggesting there is still room for improvement.

The Children's Referendum 2012

Abstract On Saturday, 10 November 2012, the Irish electorate voted to accept a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which would strengthen the constitutional rights of children. The 31st Amendment was passed by a margin of 16 per cent, with 58 per cent of voters in favour and 42 per cent against. The result was much closer than initially expected. It was hoped that holding the referendum on a Saturday would boost electoral participation, particularly among young people, but turnout on the day proved disappointingly low at 33.5 per cent. This report provides an account of the 2012 Childrens Referendum campaign and result. It begins by summarising the context behind the referendum and then outlines the key issues, events and players in the campaign. After mapping the national result, the paper draws on market research to understand the various factors grounding voter choice and turnout. The report concludes with an explanation as to the current legal standing of the amendment following a petition to the High Court to have the result annulled.

Women and Citizenship in Britain and Ireland in the Twentieth Century: what difference did the vote make?ESTHER BREITENBACH & PAT THANE (Eds)

existed to safeguard a wife’s property from her husband. While the position of wives in German law is fascinating, it is not clear how this fits into a study of coverture. As a study of ‘premodern northwest Europe’, this collection falls short of its goal. Both the late Middle Ages and English law are significantly over-represented. Moreover, the addition of a conclusion would have gone a long way towards highlighting connections between the findings of these remarkable studies. However, these are relatively minor flaws to an otherwise excellent collection. Because married women are ‘covered’ by their husband’s legal personality, perceptions about married women’s legal rights and their agency at law is an under-studied subject. This collection makes an outstanding contribution to the field.