Search Results for 'Minister for Labour'

A century ago, women had to fight for the right to vote to ensure that their voice was heard. There was no democracy when half the population had no say in who represented them, no say in decision-making in most jurisdictions throughout the world.

Sinn Féin Councillor Thérèse Ruane is calling for greater participation of women in decision making in society today. In particular, she is calling on women to use their talent, skill and energy to contribute to public life.

International Women’s Day, celebrated throughout the world on March 8, will soon be upon us. It was first nominated as a national holiday for women in 1908 to highlight a strike by New York women clothing workers against the sweatshop conditions in the factories. From its beginning it has been rooted in years of struggle and used as a rallying point to demand women’s rights and women’s suffrage. Here in Ireland, something we can be proud of is that in the First Dáil on January 21 1919, a woman, Constance Markievicz, was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Labour. This was truly historic when you consider that Constance Markievicz was the first female cabinet minister in western Europe and that Irish women didn’t gain the right to vote until 1928.