The new assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is Ms Joan Carmichael, the organisation's equality and partnership officer. The appointment is expected to be announced after formal endorsement by the ICTU's executive tomorrow.
Ms Carmichael has over 30 years' experience representing workers. Last year, she made a successful appeal to the European Commission against the Government decision to limit the parental leave directive to parents with children born after June 3rd, 1996. It had to backdate the measure by three years.
However, the appointment makes little difference to the gender imbalance at the top of the Irish trade union movement. Ms Carmichael effectively replaces the former deputy general secretary, Ms Patricia O'Donovan, who left ICTU last year to head the social dialogue division of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.
Ms Carmichael will become the senior, full-time female officer of congress and one of only two women to hold a general officership within ICTU. The other is Ms Inez McCormack, president of ICTU.
The only likely woman candidate for general officership of an Irish union is Ms Catherine Byrne, assistant general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation. She is campaigning to succeed Senator Joe O'Toole as general secretary. He retires on assuming the presidency of ICTU in July.
One major handicap for women seeking high office in Irish trade unions is their frequent lack of industrial relations experience at senior level. Ms Carmichael has over 30 years' such experience. She was one of the first women to be appointed a branch secretary in the former Workers' Union of Ireland, where she represented members in RTE, health and other public sector employments.
After she joined ICTU, Ms Carmichael was group secretary at Aer Lingus. Since returning to headquarters, she led negotiations on family-friendly initiatives, including parental leave.