Plan to encourage more Offaly women into politics
Offaly has the lowest number of women elected in Local Government in Ireland with just one female Councillor out of 19. To help address this deficit, a new initiative to inspire, equip and support women in Offaly to get involved in politics is launching next week in Tullamore.
Offaly County Council has partnered with Women for Election to launch the Supporting More Women for Local Election Programme. The programme has been designed and delivered by Women for Election on behalf of Offaly County Council and is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Increasing the number of women elected is an objective of The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future.
The programme will launch in Tullamore Court Hotel on Tuesday, October 18 from 7pm-9pm. Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett will both speak at the event. Following the launch there will be a series of training programmes which aim to inspire, equip and support women to get more involved in politics and to consider running for election or supporting another woman to run.
The series of training events kicks off with an online Introduction to Politics workshop the 19th of October and in person in Tullamore on the evening of the 26th of October. This workshop offers a fantastic opportunity for women in Offaly to learn more about Irish politics including the local and national political structures. An inspiring leadership workshop entitled Be The Leader focuses on participants reflecting on the type of leader they would like to be in their community. This event will run online on the evening of the 2nd of November with acclaimed entrepreneur and broadcaster Margaret E Ward. This phase of the initiative will end with the immensely popular INSPIRE Campaign School being delivered in Tullamore for the first time on November 12th. This Campaign School will run for a full day with a focus on building confidence, increasing communications skills, and learning about campaigning. There is something for every woman in the programme, which is all offered without cost.
Caitríona Gleeson, CEO of Women for Election said: “Currently the representation of female Councillors in Offaly stands at just 5%. We are delighted to be working with Offaly County Council on this initiative. We invite members of the community to register and join us on the 18th of October to officially launch this important and timely programme.!”
The launch on the 18th of October is open to all members of the public and registration is via Eventbrite. A video that forms part of the campaign will be previewed on the night, and there will be a panel discussion with local and national politicians.
To learn more about this campaign and register for any of the trainings or the launch, please head to https://www.womenforelection.ie/offaly/