Ireland has one of the lowest representations of women parliamentarians in Europe, and comes in behind several African countries for electing female members of parliament, according to a new report.
The report from the UN women's fund, UNIFEM, reveals that Rwanda, Eritrea and Angola are among 12 African states that have more women parliamentarians than Ireland.
The study shows that 14.6 per cent of Irish parliamentarians are women and it states that in Europe, we rank fifth last in relation to the percentage of women TDs we have elected, a long way behind Sweden, with 42.7 per cent women members.
On the other hand, the US has only 12 per cent female representation.
In 13 years, Ireland has made little progress towards the UN goal of 30 per cent female representation in national parliaments.
The percentage of women TDs has increased by less than 1 per cent in this time.
The director of UNIFEM, Dr Noeleen Heyzer, said the figures showed that Ireland had "room for improvement".
Last year, the National Women's Council of Ireland said women were marginalised not just in politics but across the major decision-making bodies in the State.
It called for political funding of parties to be made dependent on their having a minimum 40 per cent female representation.
Females account for 46 per cent of employment in Ireland, close to the European average. Only in Iceland and Sweden do women account for a majority of the workforce.
Ireland and Japan have the highest rate of female enrolment in secondary education in the world, with 100 per cent enrolment. In most African countries, less than one-third of girls attend second-level schools.
Speaking during a visit to Dublin yesterday, Dr Heyzer said women had made significant progress in many areas over the past decade. However, many of these gains were in danger of being lost because of war, AIDS and economic collapse.
Dr Heyzer, a 55-year-old Singaporean, wants the Government to place women's security issues at the centre of its human rights agenda for next year's Irish Presidency of the EU.
During her visit, she also pressed Irish officials to ensure that women benefit from the increased amounts of money the Government is devoting to overseas aid.
Ireland gives about €500,000 a year to UNIFEM, which is one of the smallest UN agencies. Founded in 1976, it has an annual budget of €36 million.