Political life was "an increasingly hostile and difficult working environment", according to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell.
Speaking to women involved in public life in central and eastern Europe, Ms O'Donnell said politics in Ireland was "neither woman nor family-friendly".
"The critical mass of women in politics needed to sufficiently `feminise' politics is still a long way off," she told a conference organised by the European Women's Foundation.
She said politics in this State was "tailor-made for men with supportive wives".
"It is rare for a woman, born outside of a political dynasty, to be enthusiastic about entering the fray of public life and to voluntarily embrace an increasingly hostile and difficult working environment which can be destructive of families and so pervasive of one's life."
However, Ms O'Donnell said women had been central to Ireland's economic transformation. "Women now make up 46.8 per cent of the labour force. Ten years ago, that was less than 36 per cent."
However, she expressed disappointment that women's earnings were not catching up with those of men quickly enough. "Even in our booming economy the average hourly wage for men is approximately 20 per cent higher than that of women." The growing participation of women in the workforce was "not reflected in the top jobs in many of our public service organisations".
"Our civil service is still male-dominated and although women make up 64 per cent of serving civil servants, they are seriously under-represented in senior managerial positions and over-represented in clerical posts."
She said the greatest obstacle to the participation of women was the availability of "good-quality, affordable childcare services".
"The Government is determined to address this as an issue of the workforce, the economy, of children's welfare and the proper functioning of the family. Whether in politics or in the workforce or the professions, we must seek to ensure that managing family responsibilities and goals is not in any way regarded as being in conflict with career ambition and family ambition."
The conference, "Women Building Democracy 2000 and Beyond" is attended by delegates from Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Latvia and Lituania. It began yesterday in University College Dublin and runs until Tuesday evening.
Conference delegates visited the President, Mrs McAleese, at Aras an Uachtarain yesterday and will be addressed by the EU Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, at the European Parliament offices in Dublin tomorrow.
The director of the foundation, former minister for education Ms Gemma Hussey, said Ireland could provide an example for emerging democracies in eastern Europe. "As a small, post-colonial neutral country, and an influential member of the European Union, Ireland provides a unique role model for many of these countries."
