Press Release: Sunday 10th November
A chance for a better-balanced politics in this election: VoteMoreWomen.ie website launched
Women for Election today launched a General Election tool for all voters – www.votemorewomen.ie which gives map-based access to information about all candidates running in each constituency in the 2024 General Election.
The new online tool, developed in collaboration with Maynooth University’s All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO), gives voters details on their constituency: how many women and men represent them, who’s running in the General Election by party and gender, and links to further information on each candidate.
The tool allows users to view the national trends and then explore all candidates within each constituency. For instance, across the 43 constituencies the proportional rate of women candidates varies from 69% in Meath-East to only 15% in Wicklow.
“There are talented, capable and competent women running in every constituency. We’re asking all voters, women and men, to research these women candidates at www.votemorewomen.ie and consider voting for them”, said Aldagh McDonogh, Chair of Women for Election.
“This election will see more than 40% more women standing than in GE2020 – 227 women to date have indicated that they are standing with more likely to be announced in the coming week. With Ireland 104th in the world for the number of women in parliament, it is good news for the health of our democracy that so many talented women are stepping forward to stand for election, seek to represent their communities, and bring their voices and experiences to the Dail”, said McDonogh.
“Voters in Ireland have a huge opportunity to make politics work better for everyone in this General Election. A balanced and more representative democracy where both men and women contribute equally to policymaking and leadership leads to more effective and inclusive decisions, benefitting everyone in Ireland” McDonogh said.
The www.votemorewomen.ie tool builds on the existing Women for Election Data Hub, built by AIRO. It centralised and made accessible to the public comprehensive information on candidates and those elected by gender and constituency for previous local, general and European elections. This powerful resource aims to support informed decisions on political representation, drive meaningful change, and contribute to gender equality in Irish politics.
Justin Gleeson, Director of AIRO in Maynooth University said: “This is a fantastic resource for the upcoming general elections and will be of great use to citizens and media organisations across the country. The Hub is a great step forward for evidence-based planning and another example of how Ireland is leading the way in developing national data tools to understand key social, economic and environmental issues.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Katie Deegan, Women for Election: Katie@womenforelection.ie
Editors Notes:
1. IMAGES: Attached images from the tool www.votemorewomen.ie
2. MORE INFO ON NUMBERS OF WOMEN CANDIDATES: There is background information on women candidates and those elected in previous General Elections and further details on candidates in this election at the Women fro Election website here.
3. About AIRO
Based at Maynooth University, the All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO) undertakes contracted applied research projects in the area of socio-demographic and economic analysis, spatial planning and environmental analysis. AIRO also provides access to a range of free data visualisation and mapping toolkits that have been designed to improve evidence informed planning in Ireland. Operating since 2006, AIRO is now recognised as a national leader in spatial analysis and socio-economic research in Ireland.
