Ms Kellie O'Dowd, women's rights officer of the Union of Students in Ireland, has welcomed the UN report stating that Ireland ranked 23rd on women's participation in a range of professions.
With such high profile women as the President, Mrs Robinson, Ms Margaret Heffernan and Dr Miriam Hederman O'Brien there was a perception in Ireland that women had achieved equality, she said. But this report highlighted the plight of women in seeking equal representation in all walks of life, she said.