Sir, – David Walsh (Letters, March 28th) seeks to debunk the “cliche” that oppressive gender roles are one reason why women seem to avoid politics. He rightly claims that many people view politics as an arena that involves unsocial hours, weekend working and a lack of a private life. What he fails to acknowledge is that both men and women are concerned with those unsocial hours and lack of private life yet it is disproportionately (and consistently so) women who are dissuaded by them. Perhaps he would say that “they” clearly have other priorities or more competing demands on their time than men. If that is so, David Beatty’s “oppressive gender roles” (Letters, March 26th) stand up to scrutiny.
And if the problem with gender quotas is indeed that they tend to generate demands for more I suppose we should be careful. Before we know it they’ll be looking for the vote, the right to stay in work, equal pay ...
Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó SIOCHRÚ,
Glenbeigh,
Co Kerry
Sir, – I disagree that a call by the National Women’s Council for a 40 per cent representation for women at Cabinet is arrogant (David Walsh, Letters March 28th) although I certainly think that it’s unrealistic. However his primary objection to the request seems to be that the NWC made no mention of merit or experience. It would be wonderful to think that every man in a Cabinet post is there due to merit or experience, but I’m sure that support for the party leader, as well as quotas to satisfy a coalition government trump merit or experience every time. Yours, etc,
SHEILA O’FLANAGAN,
Copeland Grove,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3
Sir, — As a firm supporter of politically correct nonsense cooked up by self-interested ideologues, I demand to live in a society where my concerns as a voter are ignored by politicians of both genders on an equal basis. The next time I see the interests of my country being subordinated to the interests of international financiers, oil companies, tax-dodging corporations or other states, I want to at least have the comfort of knowing that Irish democracy was devalued in a gender-balanced manner. Yours, etc,
EMMET MOOREHOUSE ,
Barnwall Court,
Balbriggan,
Co Dublin