Debate contribution: International Women’s Day 2024

Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on 11 March 2024.

MLA

Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

11 March 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

International Women’s Day 2024

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4270065

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I want to add some short words to the debate. International Women's Day is an opportunity to take some time to celebrate women, to mark the achievements of women and to call out the continued harms and challenges that many women face. I am deeply proud of being a woman, and, as I said last week, I am proud of being a strong woman, I am proud of being a feisty woman, and I am proud of being a fierce woman at times. Of course, we know that women come in many shapes and sizes, with many different views and perspectives. I also hope that I am a kind woman and a compassionate woman. We all know so many different people, and, of course, we do not all have to be the same. As we celebrated last week, I highlighted the fact that it is called "International Women's Day" but it felt like "international women's week", and that is a great thing. Hopefully, that will continue to grow, perhaps even into "international women's month" as we continue to have events. It is a great opportunity to highlight so many different aspects. It was fantastic to see so many of our community organisations, groups and communities have all of those fantastic events. I come from a long line of strong women who have shaped families, our communities, politics and the very fabric of this place that we call "home". I often say that conservative women or women of faith may not always feel the most welcome with some of the women's movements. Sometimes, we may feel that we are the wrong type of women for some of the movements. I have always stepped forward and said that there should never be a wrong type of woman. I know women who are conservative or deeply conservative or of deep faith, women of all types of faith or perhaps none at all. All women should be welcome as part and parcel of the campaign as we drive forward for a greater understanding and recognition of the incredible work that women do. When I look back to my history, I note that the Ulster women's unionist movement was the biggest movement of women on the island of Ireland of its time and was one of the biggest movements across the world. By 1913, the Ulster Women's Unionist Council had an estimated membership of between 115,000 and 200,000 women. Those were women who led the way on a pre-partition island of Ireland, north and south, pushing for votes for women. They were women who were often well connected and used their position, their education and their opportunity to push for votes for women. It was the Ulster Women's Unionist Council that secured significant wins in Ireland, north and south, for votes for women. Of course, they did not just stop there. The unionist women of that movement, the biggest female political movement across these isles, went on to the Ulster covenant. A lot of people do not realise this, but the men signed the Ulster covenant and women had their own Ulster covenant declaration. An incredible 234,046 women came out to sign that declaration across this island. Again, that was an incredible role that those women played, shaping the politics of today and stepping forward at a time when many women were probably told to sit back and be quiet. I am incredibly proud of that history and heritage. I want more of our young people to understand and realise that about this place.

Absolutely. It is fantastic to see so many women elected across different political parties. While I am incredibly proud of the heritage and history that I have and the incredibly strong women who played that role in shaping Northern Ireland, standing up for their politics and stepping forward, it is also about that message that we can be absolutely proud of who we are. I am not just proud of being a unionist; I am proud of being a woman. That means, of course, that we should have the confidence to embrace the stories, the heritage and the traditions of others. I love to hear the stories about our history and heritage — we have touched on some of them, and I have no doubt that we will hear many more — but, of course, this is about moving forward. In closing, I want to champion all our mummies, grannies, sisters and friends, the people who are there for other women and who do incredible work. They are the bedrock of our schools, community groups, families and churches. This week has been a recognition of that, and I pay tribute to them. As we move forward together, I hope that we give that confidence to the new generation and that we see plenty of little female politicians coming up through the ranks in all parties.

814 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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