Stepping Forward: Participation, Representation and Local Democracy

Meath County Council’s longest serving councillor, Brian Fitzgerald, and it’s first black female councillor, Yemi Adenuga, join gender and politics researcher Claire McGing to look at participation and representation in local government.Claire wrote, ‘Women Beyond the Dail: Access, Representation & Retention in Irish Local Government’ with Pauline Cullen,  Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University.The episode discusses how Meath County Council has changed since the 1980s, the obstacles to increasing participation by women in local politics, the different experiences women can face as candidates and after election, and what the contributors think would encourage more women to get involved in local democracy.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTForty years of local political evolution in Meath.The role of women in challenging political status quo.Why gender quotas are controversial yet potentially effective tools.Intersectional barriers for migrant and diverse candidates.Strategies to encourage participation through community level action.QUOTESI think they are probably, from a family perspective, I think women are bringing forward issues that maybe men would not do, and I think that is very important. - Brian FitzgeraldIt is an attempt to silence women. It is a form of backlash to their participation in public life, and it is a real threat to democracy. - Claire McGingRepresentation is powerful by every standard. When people see that somebody who looks like them is there, issues that ordinarily would not have been raised will be raised for people. - Yemi AdenugaKEYWORDS #DiversityInLocalGovernment#WomenInIrishPolitics#LocalDemocracyParticipation#MigrantPoliticalRepresentation