Fianna Fail Senator and Leader of the Seanad, Lisa Chambers, has expressed her disappointment at the recent resignation of two female world leaders, Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern. Both leaders were renowned for their strong and responsible leadership and served as role models for women around the world.
"It is sad to see another strong and responsible female leader like Nicola Sturgeon resign," said Senator Chambers, following the news this week. "It begs the question of why women are leaving politics and what we need to do to encourage them to stay in public life."
Sturgeon, who served as Scotland's First Minister, announced her resignation on Wednesday, citing personal reasons. Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, announced her resignation in November 2022, saying that she had achieved much of what she set out to do in her time in office.
"It is concerning that we are losing such talented and accomplished women from the political arena," added Senator Chambers. "We need to work together to create an environment that supports and encourages women to pursue leadership roles in politics and stay in public life."
Senator Chambers believes that there is a lot more work to be done to address the systemic barriers that women face in politics and other areas of public life.
"I am committed to fighting for gender equality and empowering women to reach their full potential," she said. "We need to create a more inclusive and supportive political culture that values the contributions of women leaders and recognises the unique perspectives they bring to the table.
“I hope that the resignation of leaders like Sturgeon and Ardern will serve as a wake-up call to the urgent need for more inclusive and diverse political systems around the world. We have made progress on this in Ireland over the past decade, however, the coarsening of public debate and the increase in abuse towards female public representatives are impacting the number of women taking part in public life,” said Senator Chambers.
