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Carmichael Centre, Coleraine House,
Coleraine Street, Dublin 7 D07 E8XF
Tel: 01 672 8050
The #CountHerIn campaign launched on February 4th 2022 to honour the birthday of Countess Constance Markievicz, one of Ireland’s most prolific feminist voices from the 20th century who fought in the 1916 rising and was the first woman ever elected to the British House of commons.
This year we are relaunching our campaign to mark the day Countess Markievicz was appointed the first female Minister in Europe on the 2nd of April.
Yet #CountHerIn doesn’t end there. The work to achieve a 5050 government in Ireland by 2030 continues every day, as does the #CountHerIn campaign.
#CountHerIn
Many councillors, Senators, T.D.s and party leaders spoke out in support of the #CountHerIn campaign. Have a listen to what they had to say here.
The Reality
Women make up half of the Irish population, yet are only represented at 23% in the Dáil and 25% in Local Government. The numbers are even worse for ethnic minorities, working-class women, rural women, women with disabilities and those from the LGBT+ community.
100 years on since Countess Markeivicz and 5 other women stood for election, we have only 31 more women in the Dáil
You know the statistics and now we’re asking you to help us make the change. We want to break down the barriers to women’s participation in political life, and part of this includes inspiring and encouraging women to run for election. Research shows that women are more likely to doubt their abilities and less likely to put themselves forward. We know that this is most likely down to the way women are socialised and the structures and misogyny in society that we are working hard to overturn.
The Solution
Our vision is an Ireland with full participation by women in Irish politics. We want to see 1,000 women on the ticket in the 2024 local elections and 250 women running in the next general election. We want these women to reflect the diversity of women in Irish society.
Governments that reflect the diversity of the society they represent make better decisions. Politics is the most powerful vehicle for change, indeed almost every part of our lives is impacted by politics. A recurring theme in our research was that women who ran said ”If you want to make a change to Irish society, if you think you do something for your community, then you should ‘go for it” and run for election!”
We all know a brilliant community organiser; the woman who runs a local business, a woman who leads the community campaigns or speaks up for change and progress. Perhaps your friend who is always there with advice, or your partner. We are seeing more women coming to our training all the time and declaring loudly and confidently that they are going to put themselves forward to run and we are hopeful for the future, and still we know there are even more powerful women out there.
#CountHerIn
Is there a woman in your life that you think would make a great politician?
Now is the time to tell her!
What happens next? We will send the woman you have nominated an email telling her you wish to #CountHerIn to enter and succeed in political life. We will direct her to our website where she can sign up for training, join our networking meetings and/or sign up for a tailored mentoring programme.
You can also let someone know you #CountHerIn by tagging her in a post on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, or send her a private message telling her that you think she should run for election.
Emails submitted will be used for this campaign only. Should you wish to receive further communication from Women for Election please subscribe to our mailing list at the bottom of this page.
#CountHerIn
#CountMeIn
We are delighted to see you put yourself forward for #CountMeIn. We have a number of training and mentoring programmes designed to help you succeed in Irish politics.
What happens next? You’ll get an email from us shortly with information on our training and events schedule as well as our tailored mentoring programme.
The first step on your election pathway is declaring #CountMeIn loud and proud! Let people know your intention to run today through your social media channels or over a cup of tea. You’d never know who else may join you for the count!
Emails submitted will be used for this campaign only. Should you wish to receive further communication from Women for Election please subscribe to our mailing list at the bottom of this page.