Irish feminism still faces challenges today

The Catholic Church’s controversial recent document Normae de Gravioribus Delictis put the sin of ordaining female priests on a par with child abuse. The document has reignited the debate on the role of women within the Church and society as a whole, as well as the role of feminism. By Sean Carroll.

In the late twentieth century feminism galvanized many young women into demanding fundamental change. The movement questioned ingrained ideology and aggressively advocated women’s equality.

Looking back from the vantage point of a modern liberal society it seems the movement had its work cut out for it. Consider the following:

Until 1973 women were forced to resign from the civil service after marriage. Contraception was illegal until 1979 and only made available without prescription in the 1980s. Divorce was prohibited in Ireland until 1995. Until 1990 marital rape could not be prosecuted.

Up to 1976 a husband had the right to sell the family home if it was registered in his name, whether or not his wife agreed with the sale. Women were actively discouraged from pursuing “male” subjects such as mathematics and instead told to take subjects such as domestic science. Huge gaps existed between male and female pay rates.

Feminists played a major part in changing these policies – hard won victories in a staunchly conservative Roman Catholic country.

Recent polls however suggest that many young women see feminism as unimportant, a relic from a previous era.

Statistically glaring inequalities between the sexes remain. An EU campaign launched earlier this year aims to raise awareness of the gender pay gap, which has only marginally changed in the last 15 years in Europe.

In Ireland women earn on average 17% less per hour than their male counterparts. 21% of women aged 65 and over are at risk of poverty compared to 16% of men, according to the European Commission.

All political decision-making institutions are male dominated. Research conducted by the National Council of Women shows that the percentage of women appointed to State boards has rarely reached 40% despite this being an official Government guideline since 1991.

So in spite of this why are many young women across the country reluctant to identify themselves as feminists?

Dr. Maura Conway, a feminist and lecturer at Dublin City University, believes that a large number of young women feel feminism is antiquated. "Today many women feel that there’s not a whole lot left to fight for, that feminism is kind of dead. A lot of women feel that they have equality and considering yourself a feminist in that context comes off as whining", she says.

This has led to a society in which discrimination has continued unchallenged: "Discrimination hasn’t disappeared. There’s a way in which people in general value the contribution that men make in public life to a much greater extent than they do those of women."

Feminist Dr. Mary Condren of the Institute for Religion and Feminism is critical of today’s generation for turning their back on feminist ideals.

“Do young women like to have equal pay? Do they like to have access to contraception? Are they in control of their reproductive rights? Do they have to retire when they get married? They are feminists but they don’t give any credit to the women who went before them to make those rights possible.”

But what are the reasons for the youth’s loss of interest in feminism? To many, “feminist” and “man-hater” have become synonyms. Perhaps this is a sign the ideology needs re-evaluation.

Labour party TD Joan Burton believes that feminism is still important as it fundamentally strives for equality of opportunity: “feminism to me means women becoming what they want to be and what they have the capacity and talent to be.”

The current political set up in Ireland favours men, argues Burton. Only 13% of those elected to the Dail are women, with the figure at 17% for the Seanad.

“For many women the structures of politics are very arcane. Politics is quite adversarial and many men may find this easier to deal with than some women, who prefer to work on a more co-operative basis. Women in politics are critiqued in a much tougher way than men in politics - too tall, too short, too fat, too thin, too loud, too quiet. Sometimes it feels women can’t get anything right” she says.

Others however believe that the decline in feminism is a positive thing, brought about by its own flaws.

Harry Rea of the National Council of Men in Ireland, an organisation set up to promote marriage, says that feminist ideals are being questioned by the youth for valid reasons.

“Women are the biggest victims of feminism. Feminist policies are selfish, they are purely about immediate gratification. As a result there’s a gender war, where women hate men and men hate women. History will reflect the opposite to what feminist propaganda promoted in the first place.”

Twenty one year-old college graduate Niamh Mongey does not consider herself a feminist – but neither does she consider herself a “victim” of feminism. In fact she says that she has “a lot of respect for the women who worked so hard to gain the status that we have now.”

Niamh does not label herself a feminist as she feels that feminism “isn’t something I, or others my age, actually need to consider anymore. In my mind women and men, in most regards, are equal now. I’m quite happy with the status of women as it is at the moment.”

"I don’t think feminism has as much significance as it once did. It was a huge issue forty years ago for women. There’s just much less regard for it now amongst young people.”

And what about the gender pay gap and the lack of women in public life? Surely there are issues still worth fighting for? Niamh pauses for a moment before sighing: “There are still inequalities of course, but I think they are always going to exist between men and women. I suppose there’s never going to be a complete balance.”

The current battle for feminists, it seems, is to prove that there is still a battle to be fought.