IN voting studies up to the 1970s, references to women as "mindless matrons", either abstaining completely from voting or blindly following their husbands' or fathers' party voice, was not unusual.
Incapable of making up their own minds, an eminent French professor claimed women had "the mentality of minors", were ill informed about political issues, voted for conservative and religious parties who did little for them, and were ambivalent about supporting other women in political life. Why, he asked, after fighting so hard for the right to vote, did women do so little with it?
While the 1990 Presidential election, the 1992 "earthquake" and the 1994 European Parliament election dispelled any lingering myths about Irish women's capacity for independent thinking, we still know very little about what women voters want.
So when women go to the polls on June 6th, which parties will they vote for? From the Irish Times/MRBI poll last March it seems that more women vote for Fianna Fail than for any other Irish party and are several points ahead of men in support for that party. In fact, women's support for Fianna Fail almost equals their combined support for Fine Gael, Labour and the PDs. This poll also shows that more women support the PDs now than in the late 1980s (perhaps because of their woman leader), and satisfaction with Mary Harney's leadership is higher among women than men.
Do women like to concentrate power or share it? It is interesting to look at a Lansdowne poll before the 1992 election which examined attitudes to single party versus coalition government. Although more men favoured single party government, it was notable that single women were least enthusiastic. A substantial majority of single women felt that coalition government could be just as effective as single party rule.
In response to a direct question about their preferred coalition in the March poll of this year, more women chose Fianna Fail/PD (46 to 39 per cent), while men preferred Fine Gael/Labour/DL (by 41 to 32 per cent). Over the vexed question of who should be Taoiseach in a coalition, far more men than women believed that the leader of the largest party should be the boss, married men in particular favouring this option. Women felt strongly that the Taoiseach need not be the leader of the largest party. Single women were least in favour.
Are we being prepared here for a rotating Taoiseach along gender lines?
Male and female voters share many common concerns - typically, crime and unemployment. Unemployment, however, is now the most important issue for women, as is crime for men. Given the high level of crimes against women, it is interesting that jobs feature higher on their list of priorities. It also reflects the emergence of the Emerald Tigress over recent years. The Irish economic miracle has been linked with women's increasing contribution to national wealth through employment, particularly in services.
With employment in agriculture shrinking and the creation of almost 12 times as many jobs in services as in manufacturing, women's labour force participation has mushroomed, often in job areas where traditional male skills are unsuited. Many of these jobs are, however, temporary, part time and insecure.
So, even if employment is prioritised, what employed women voters want may be different from what men want: equal pay for equal work, permanence, pension rights and childcare facilities. Given that women are often the only family breadwinner these days, such issues are critical to many family units. Every Irish woman yearns for women's work within the home to be recognised, valued and rewarded. Why, if the common good cannot be achieved without women's work within the home, is it not counted in GNP?
Twice as many women as men want education and health prioritised, but do they want different things? Would women want more remedial teachers - who spend more time over homework with children with learning difficulties? Again, women's health concerns differ from men's in many ways, highlighted most clearly in the blood debacle. Much of every country's health budget goes to women, since, apart from the usual health care demands common to both sexes, women fulfil society's reproduction function, and maternity services, hospital beds and technological equipment have to be provided to ensure the replacement of the generations.
Do women want more women in politics? Yes, they do. Women attracted first preference and transfer votes like moths to the light in recent elections. Why, then, haven't the main parties selected more women candidates for the upcoming election? Looking at the "Blair Babes", will Irish women voters look longingly at Ireland's most popular party (thanks to their support) and wonder why there are so few "Bertie's Babes" if we are to double women's Dail presence, as Blair has done for the House of Commons?
