‘Councils that have more diversity are better’
A More Inclusive Politics for Westmeath (part 2)
In his address to the seminar on A More Inclusive Politics for Westmeath in Mullingar on Saturday, Minister Peter Burke said the more women there are involved in local politics, the greater the chance of getting them into national politics. When you have more women and more diverse groups in the room, you get a better outcome, he said.
He accepted that it was a huge challenge to go into politics, but he would encourage women to take that chance and he promised to do his best to make it as comfortable as possible for them.
Dr Michelle Maher from Mullingar is the director of the award winning See Her Elected campaign. She remarked on how few female councillors there were in the country and there have only ever been 14 women elected to Westmeath County Council, since the first, Aileen Mallen, in the 1960s.
Dr Maher said that local governments have to be representative not just of men and women but also of migrants, minority groups, the disabled and the LGBTQ+ community, among others. A council made up largely of similar people is missing a significant chunk of expertise, she said.
She urged those present to get involved, either by running for election or supporting women candidates and the SHE campaign.