Novel reversal of gender imbalance in Longford council chamber

Members of the WoMeN’s (Western Midlands and Northern) Regional Caucus will mark International Women’s Day this March with a ‘flipping great idea’; for one day only there will be a complete reversal of the gender balance in a number of county council chambers throughout the West, Midlands and Northern region.

The novel idea of a ‘gender reversal’ of the council chambers is just one of many ambitious projects that the 42 female county councillors who make up the WoMeN’s Regional Caucus will action this year as part of their programme of work.

A number of council chambers in the region will be transformed to mark International Women’s Day by having a complete reversal of the existing gender make-up of the chamber.
In Longford County Council, International Women’s Day celebrations will be marked on Monday, March 6 at 4pm. On the day, elected representatives, currently 2 women and 16 men, will be flipped to 16 women and 2 men.

Topics on the agenda include The Community Recognition Fund 2023 and the N4 Mullingar to Rooskey Update.

Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi said, “In flipping the gender composition on Longford County Council, we are raising awareness and calling on our allies to join in taking action to drive gender parity on the Council and ensure there is balanced decision making in Local Government. Collective activism drives change.”
Both See Her Elected (SHE), a feminist, community led rural initiative to support women to become county councillors and the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG), the primary body representing city and county councillors share the organisational and secretarial support for the Regional Caucus.

Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager with SHE said, “The WoMeN’s Regional Caucus is an important political institution in Irish politics and the capacity of the caucus to provide formal and informal supportive environments is a welcome addition to the incentives for more women to consider running in the local elections.”