Ireland and Society, Lecture Four: Women and Gender Politics

Over the past thirty years, despite their being essential to human life, neoliberal restructuring across the world has privatised, eroded and demolished our shared resources, and ushered in a ‘crisis of social reproduction.’

‘Cuts are a Feminist Issue’, Soundings (Dec 2011)

The term social reproduction encompasses all the means by which society reproduces its families, citizens and workers.



It includes all the labour that is necessary for a society to reproduce itself: the biological production of people and workers, and all the social practices that sustain the population - bearing children, raising children, performing emotional work, providing clothing and food, and cooking and cleaning.



It includes all the labour that is necessary for a society to reproduce itself: the biological production of people and workers, and all the social practices that sustain the population - bearing children, raising children, performing emotional work, providing clothing and food, and cooking and cleaning.

As a concept social reproduction has been key to feminist social theory, because it challenges the usual distinctions that are made between productive and reproductive labour, or between the labour market and the home.


as a result of cuts to benefits and the social wage, women are also being forced out of the home and into (predominantly low paid) waged work, as families increasingly require more income to cover the basic cost of living.

[In the UK] Proposed benefit reform brutally promises to `encourage' mothers back to work through compulsory labour programmes; lone parents will be expected to be actively seeking work when their children are as young as five years old.


The combined effects for working women of the removal of socially provided childcare (which should be seen as part of the social wage),

the diminishing availability of work that pays an adequate wage,

and the increase in their responsibilities for unpaid care work,

tend to push women into informal labour markets, including sex work, that are unregulated, and in which workers face high levels of exploitation and, often, violence.


Closing down of Dissent - Attacks on Equality in IrelandEquality Bodies – closed down or with reduced Budgets

Combat Poverty Agency –closed 2008 incorporated into the Department of Social Protection Equality Authority – 2009 43% cut and now being merged with the Human Rights Commission Women’s Health Council – closed 2009 Crisis Pregnancy Agency – closed and merged with the Health Service Executive Irish Human Rights Commission -Budget cuts since 2009 and merged with Equality Authority Equality for Women Measure - co-funded by EU Operational Programme ---budget partly transferred out of this

area and now under Dept. For Enterprise, Trade and Employment National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) _Closed 2009 Gender Equality desk at the Department (Ministry) of Justice, Equality and Law Reform – Desk Closed 2009 Gender Equality Unit – Department of Education – Closed early 2000s Higher Education Equality Unit – UCC -Closed and merged into Higher Education Authority (early 2000s) National Women’s Council of Ireland -158 member organisations- budget cuts of 15% in 2008-11 and 38% in

2012 Traveller Education cutbacks 2011 and 2012 – all 42 Visiting teaches for Travellers removed* Rape Crisis Network Ireland – core Health Authority Funding removed 2011

SAFE Ireland network of Women’s’ Refuges - core Health Authority Funding removed 2011

People With Disabilities in Ireland's (PWDI) - funding removed 2012

National Carers’ Strategy – abandoned 2009

Kathleen Lynch, Equality Studies UCD School of Social Justice 21

Gender and CaringNotes on Lynch and Lyons, ‘The Gendered Order of Caring’ in Ursula Barry (ed) Where Are

We Now? New Feminist Perspectives on Women in Contemporary Ireland (Dublin: Tasc, 2008)

There are deep gender inequalities in the doing of care and love work that operate to the advantage of men.

It is women’s unwaged labour and related domestic labour that frees men up to exercise control in the public sphere of politics, the economy and culture.

… there is a moral imperative on women to do care work that does not apply equally to men ; a highly gendered moral code impels women to do the greater part of primary caring, with most believing they have no choice in the matter.

The Irish government collects data on unpaid caring within households in

1. the Census

2. the Quarterly Household Survey (QNHS).

Within the Census, care is defined as being given by ‘persons aged 15yrs and over who provide regular unpaid help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability (including problems due to age). P.167-8

According to the [2006] Census there are less than 150,000 people, 5 per cent of the adult population in unpaid care work (mostly with adults) of whom 61 per cent are women and 39 per cent are men.

However, when we measure all types of caring activity, as has been done in the European Community household Panel (ECPH) we see that there are 1 million people who do caring who are not named in the census.

Even though it is no doubt unintentional, the failure to collect data on hours spent on child care work in the Census, means that child care, which is the major form of care work in Irish society, is no counted in terms of work hours.

… women are almost five times as likely to work long care hours than is the case for men.

Women spend much more time at care work than men, even when they are employed.

Context

The Eighth Amendment

Women and Decision Making

politics and business leadership

- chronic underrepresentation at local and national level

- 2014 local elections

- 17% women candidates / 17% of seats

- better represented at MEP level

- 2011 saw an increase from 13% to 27% in women ministers

30% of candidates in elections must now be women after a change in the law in 2014. This will go up to 40%.

-34% of state boards are women

-9% of private boards are women

(OECD, 2013)

There are guidelines to seek 40% on state boards but no enforcement.

EffectsLack of funding allocated to gendered areas, such as care services

Lack of representation at senior levels gives rise to lack of flexi work options gives rise to lack of representation……...and so on

Women are the majority of public sector workers but are underrepresented at senior levels particularly in education (80% of senior uni posts are held by men)

Only five out of 36 senior positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs are held by women

Reflected in activism?

Women and Work

Unpaid or low paid

- framework of anti-discrimination laws that are enforced

- Employment Equality Acts 1998 & 2004

- Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004

Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, which provide for maternity leave; Adoptive Leave Act 1995; Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006;Carer’s Leave Act 2001; Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Act 2001 and the Protection of Employees (Fixed-term Work) Act 2003; National Minimum Wage Act 2000.

There are no specific regulations on the gender pay gap.

Young women saw their employment rate drop from 66 per cent in 2008 to 46 per cent in 2014 (CSO).

The gender gap in employment rates narrowed during the crisis years due to the collapse in construction.

Women are the majority of part-time workers in Ireland and their work is becoming increasingly casualised (eg teaching).

Ireland has the highest rate of low pay (after the U.S.) in the developed world and the rate is growing indicating the importance of the National Minimum Wage.

Growing use of zero hour contracts and pay cuts for new entrants (teachers and nurses earn 20% less).

Very little childcare infrastructure and high cost where it exists

There is a persistent and significant gender pay gap in Ireland and it has increased during the crisis years to 24.6% (OECD).

There is a marked gender difference in pension coverage in Ireland with most women reliant on a low level State pension.

Reproductive Health and

Rightsoptions cost money

- OTC emergency contraception

- extremely restrictive abortion law

- highly regulated information laws

Conclusion- Good legislative framework but little policy

commitment, and no constitutional commitment to gender equality

- Current constitution is a huge bar to women’s equality

- Lack of representation has led to little focus on gendered issues

- Women and minorities have borne the brunt of austerity