Yvonne Galligan

• Professor
• Professor at Technological University Dublin

This paper provides a comparative analysis of gender equality figures between women and men for the partners of the European University of Technology (EUt+) alliance. A baseline template was developed appropriate for higher education institutions and influenced by categories of data collected for the 'She' survey. Results for a baseline year of 201...

Ostensibly, gender quotas have had a transformative effect on women’s political candidacy and election in Ireland. Since the inaugural “gender quota election” of 2016, the number of women candidates contesting general elections has increased by 90% while the number of women elected has increased by 44%. Yet, in 2022, men outnumber women by a ratio...

What explains the disconnect between two images of the Irish state: the champion for gender human rights in matters of foreign affairs, and laggard on these rights internally? Is there a disconnect, or are these two sides of the same coin? Hailed internationally for its progressive promotion of the women, peace and security framework, policymaking...

This paper employs the concept of epistemic justice to examine the potential for gender equality plans (GEPs) to bring about sustainable transformative change towards gender equality in higher education. Mindful of both the limitations and opportunities of gender policy interventions, the paper highlights the importance of approaching gender inequa...

This article investigates women’s representation as Northern Ireland (NI) MPs in the House of Commons since 1953. The central argument of the study is that the political and cultural positions dominant at the formation of NI in the early 20th century reverberate through the generations and continue to inform women’s political under-representation t...

Descriptive data to accompany The 2020 General Election: A Gender Analysis

This article investigates women's representation as Northern Ireland MPs in the House of Commons since 1922. It offers a comprehensive first study of women politicians from the region, comparing their political careers, interests and parliamentary participation. After some contextual discussion, the article provides a descriptive account of the 13...

The February 2020 general election will be remembered as the “change” election, when the two dominant parties of Irish politics, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, trailed behind Sinn Féin in voters' preferences for the first time. However, for the gender balance of Irish politics, much remained unchanged. While the number of women elected to Dáil Éireann...

This article explores research on gender and institutions for the purposes of informing analytical frameworks for research on institutional change with regard to gender equality in higher education. Drawing on feminist institutionalist studies that explore the relationship between gender, institutions and institutional continuity and change, the ai...

This chapter considers how Brexit intersects with gender in Northern Ireland in a multi-layered and multi-dimensional manner. It shows how internal politics, location bordering a European Union state, and the legacy of conflict interact to create unique conditions for the Brexit process and women’s rights. It notes that while female political leade...

This chapter analyses theories of European integration through a gender lens. It points to the diversity of perspectives in gender scholarship on European integration, and draws on these different points of view to examine other theoretical approaches. It assumes that gender is a basic organising principle of the social world, and therefore is an i...

Accompanies lecture on women and politics in Ireland since 1918

This year marks the centenary of women achieving the right to vote and stand in parliamentary elections in Britain and Ireland. The Representation of the People Act, which became law on 6 February 1918, introduced universal male suffrage (over 21) and enfranchised women over the age of 30 subject to a minimal property qualification. Additional legi...

This paper explores the measures taken to advance gender equality in six HE institutions in Europe. Its central question is if the gender equality plans that proliferate in top-flight European universities offer the prospect of gender justice, expressed as epistemic justice, in academia.

A historical overview of women's political representation in Ireland. Conference organised by the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Royal Irish Academy as part of Votail 100 celebrations.

The two jurisdictions of Northern Ireland and Ireland may differ in many respects. But in one aspect they have more in common than divides them – cultural and political views on gender roles. Traditional attitudes towards gender roles, influenced by deep wells of religiosity, shaped a different political citizenship for women and men from the turn...

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 contr...

Parliaments have an important role to play in redressing gender imbalances and facilitating parity of participation of women and men, in descriptive, substantive and symbolic forms. This role comes amongst others about through a scrutiny of parliamentary norms, rules, conventions, processes, practices, and behaviours. The fundamental premise is tha...

The multi-layered political system of the European Union offers a unique environment for the study of comparative democracy. Its policies seek to give effect to an agreed range of values, including that of gender equality. This book explores gender equality and democratic politics in Europe. It discusses how democratic politics engages with gender...

In July 2012, legislation on political party funding and candidate gender quotas was enacted by the Irish Parliament. The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 provides for a 30% gender quota for party candidates at the next general election, rising to 40% seven years thereafter. Non-compliant parties will lose half of their annual sta...

This article examines the nature of gender politics since the 1998 Good Friday-Belfast Agreement. Taking gender justice as a normative democratic framework, the article argues that despite the promise of women’s equal participation in public and political life written into the Agreement, parties have delivered varied responses to integrating women,...

In July 2012, legislation on political party funding and candidate gender quotas was enacted by the Irish Parliament. The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 provides for a 30 per cent gender quota for party candidates at the next general election, rising to 40 per cent seven years thereafter. Non-compliant parties will lose half of...

In July 2012, legislation on political party funding and candidate gender quotas was enacted by the Irish Parliament. The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 provides for a 30 per cent gender quota for party candidates at the next general election, rising to 40 per cent seven years thereafter. Non-compliant parties will lose half of...

The election of two energetic women in succession to the office of President of Ireland challenged the notion that the presidency was a long-service reward for retiring politicians. Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese broke the male domination of the presidency, interpreted its functions in a more dynamic manner, and utilised the ‘soft power’ of the of...

Originally starting in the 1950s with a membership of only six countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), the European Union (EU) has substantially enlarged its membership in each decade since the 1970s to 27 members today — with the likelihood of more to come in the next decade. The process of enlargement began wi...

This article analyses the effects of gender, generation and party support towards a greater inclusion of women in politics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It explores attitudes on this issue using the same question in the Irish National Election Study and the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey. The article documents a consisten...

The gendered nature of democratic decision-making in the EU is the focus of this paper. It outlines a theoretical model of democracy that looks at public decision-making processes through a gender lens: gender democracy. It then takes two instances of democratic decision-making in the European Union relevant to gender equality: the Goods and Servic...

The existence of a European gender order is intrinsically connected with the creation and development of the European Union. The construction of this order – a combination of values, laws and practices seeking to give effect to gender equality – is contested at both supranational and nation-state levels. This article takes Ostner and Lewis' ‘two ne...

Research on women's political representation in postsocialist Europe has highlighted the role of cultural and political factors in obstructing women's access to legislative power, such as the prevalence of traditional gender stereotypes, electoral systems, and the absence of a feminist movement. Yet, the role of women political elites in enhancing...

In this paper, we propose a theoretical model to study the effect of income insecurity of parents and offspring on the child's residential choice. Parents are partially altruistic toward their children and will provide financial help to an independent child when her income is low relative to the parents'. We find that children of more altruistic pa...

This paper presents a methodological framework for assessing the quality of democracy in the European Union from a gender perspective. The methodology was developed in the context of a broader project that aims to derive a set of empirical indicators of democratic performance for the European Union, being undertaken within the EU funded project Rec...

Until the 1990s the policy preferences operating to support home ownership in Ireland led to private rented accommodation declining in importance as a housing sector, comprising less than one tenth of all housing provision at the beginning of this decade. Since then, a combination of demographic change and economic prosperity, along with a shortage...

The move from communism to liberal democracy in east central Europe (ECE) has resulted in women being left behind in these transition processes. Women continue to be disproportionally affected by cuts in employment, are more likely to be employed in the less dynamic services sector, and are more at risk of poverty than men.2 In political participat...

English This article focuses on the experience of developing gender equality indicators in the UK and Republic of Ireland and on the challenges confronting policy makers in mainstreaming gender equality into public policies. It identifies the internationalisation of gender equality as a critical pressure on governments to address gender mainstreami...

This article discusses women's political representation in Central and Eastern Europe in the fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the adop-tion of liberal democratic political systems in the region. It highlights the deep-seated gender stereotypes that define women primarily as wives and mothers, with electoral politics seen as an ap...

This paper examines the attitudes of women political elites in Ireland toward positive action initiatives that would assist in increasing women's legislative presence. An earlier study isolated family responsibilities and lack of finance as significant barriers for Irish women wishing to enter, and stay in, political life. In addition, scholarly an...

In the 2002 election, a total of 463 candidates presented themselves to the voters in Ireland’s 42 constituencies; most of these — 325, or 70 per cent — came from the six main parties while the other 138 were either independents or representatives of minor parties. The candidate selection process offers a rare glimpse of the internal workings of po...

As a postcolonial country with a legacy of nationalist engagement and a historically strong adherence to the Roman Catholic religion, one would expect only modest advances in women’s rights. Yet, such is not the case. Ireland has undergone a remarkable change in the last thirty years with regard to the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church...

Dieser Beitrag untersucht die politische Repräsentation von Frauen in der Republik Irland. Zunächst skizzieren wir das politische Umfeld, in dem irische Frauen nach Repräsentation streben. Dann werden wir die geringe Präsenz von Frauen im politischen Leben Irlands beschreiben und die Gründe dafür diskutieren. Abschließend geht es um die zukünftigen...

The representation of women as Members of Parliament in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland is low by European standards. It is argued that two separate political events ‐ the election of Mary Robinson as Ireland's first woman president and pressures for constitutional change in Scotland ‐ could provide the opportunity to change the political a...

The report of the Second Commission on the Status of Women, published in January 1993 and presented to the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, on 11 February, marks the culmination of a two-year process of assessing the position of women in Irish society and making recommendations for change. The report, running to over 500 pages, has been hailed by women'...

This paper analyzes the effects of gender and generation on attitudes toward greater inclusion of women in politics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It explores attitudes toward the role of basic descriptive representation using the same question in the Irish National Election Study (INES) and the Northern Ireland Life and Times Sur...

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