Debate contribution: International Women’s Day 2025

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 4 March 2025.

MLA

Mrs Linda Dillon

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

4 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

International Women’s Day 2025

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4833623

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

As a member of the Women's Caucus, it is my privilege to wind on the debate. I thank everyone who contributed to it. We give special thanks to Aoife, who made her maiden speech in the Chamber. We will all agree, I think, that it was a very strong speech. It just shows the strength of the women in the Chamber, which is a really good place for us to be. Aisling mentioned the need for us to have a women's health strategy. That is really important. We have heard from the Health Minister that there will be a women's health action plan. That is really appreciated, but we need to see it come forward soon. We have only to listen to Cara Hunter's contribution about all the struggles to do with women's health to know how badly the action plan is needed. Connie Egan talked about the threat of gender-based violence. We know that the most dangerous place in western Europe for a woman is their own home in the North of Ireland, where they may experience violence at the hands of somebody who is supposed to love them. Diana Armstrong outlined the importance of women being in leadership roles and of women's voices being heard. Sinéad McLaughlin spoke about the importance of the APG on UNSCR 1325, Women, Peace and Security in raising gender equality issues. We can be in no doubt that the APG is doing a good job and that it is important that that continues. I thank Sinéad and all those on the APG for their contribution. Aoife Finnegan spoke about being a proud south Armagh woman, and I join her in that. I am also a proud south Armagh woman who is proud now to represent women, men and everybody across Mid Ulster. Aoife is determined to raise her voice for the people of Newry and Armagh. She spoke about the transformative impact of strong female leadership and about gender equality as a societal issue. Kellie Armstrong spoke of the need for women to ask other women to stand for election and to support each other in that. I absolutely agree with Kellie, because I have done it. I have approached women and asked them whether they would consider standing for election. Recently, two such women agreed to stand in the council elections, and they were both elected. They are outstanding women, and I am really proud. I have to say that the men around them supported them too, which is really important. A number of those who spoke in the debate referred to support from men. It is really important. Gerry Carroll mentioned the women of Palestine, and Cara dedicated her speech to the women of Palestine. That was really poignant for us to hear, particularly today when meetings are happening in Cairo to address what will happen in Palestine in the future. Let us hope that they consider the women of Palestine. I am not sure whether it was Cara or Sinéad who mentioned Lilian Seenoi-Barr. Lilian gave us an education at the Women's Caucus event that was held upstairs. I could not stay for the entire event, but Lilian was at the table that I sat at.

She talked to me about the advancement of women in politics in Kenya and what they have done over many, many years, long before anybody else was doing it. That was in what people consider to be a developing country. Well, let me tell you this: Kenya is well developed and ahead of all the "developed" countries in how to promote women in politics. I thank Lilian for speaking to me that day. It was an education in itself.

Cheryl Brownlee mentioned inspirational women in sport and science, and I am glad that she mentioned that jockey. I back her at every opportunity that I get because I want to see her win. It is really important to see women in those leadership roles and showing people that they can do it. We all know that they had greater challenges getting to those positions than any of their male counterparts. Again, however, in many circumstances, they did that with the support of their male colleagues and their friends. I wanted gender quotas when I was first elected to this place, but I was told that it could not be done. I looked at other things that we could consider to urge more women into politics in this place. I wondered whether we could have proxy voting so that women could have maternity leave, but I was told, "Absolutely not"; it could not be done. It might look like self-preservation, but I was a woman in my 40s with one child, so I was pretty sure that I was not having any more. It was nothing to do with self-preservation, but I thought that it was important. If we want to encourage young women to enter politics, we need to make it possible for them to do so. When COVID hit, however, and proxy voting was required for everybody, it was possible to introduce it straight away; it was not a problem. Thankfully, proxy voting is now available, but that is what it took for us to be able to start the journey of getting it. Obviously, now, our male colleagues will potentially get paternity leave and provision will be made for those with long-term health problems. It was really important to have proxy voting to facilitate maternity leave for women, because we have female colleagues who get pregnant — Kate Nicholl is pregnant at the moment. I cannot think of anybody else at the moment, but there may be someone whom we do not know about. It is really important. We cannot say that we want more young women in politics but do absolutely nothing to encourage them. As a caucus, we know the power of listening, engaging and discussing. I described how hearing from Lilian Seenoi-Barr at our most recent event was an education for me. We aim to work collectively to create change and use our voices to empower one another. We were delighted to recently engage with so many other women in public life and the women's sector. We discussed how we can stand strong in our power and how we can represent and lead without having to break down unnecessary barriers. The feedback from those events will help us to pave the way for change. We want to promote gender equality in political representation as essential and as being achievable with the correct, targeted action. I know that quotas are not for everybody, but it worked for our party. I ask Members to consider it, because, if you are looking around you and everyone around you is male, something is wrong. You have to ask what it is that you can do. That does not mean that those males are bad; we have a lot of time for them. Actually, I welcome the males who have been in the Chamber for the debate. Thank you very much for coming here and supporting your female colleagues. It is very much welcomed. I know that I speak for all my caucus colleagues when I say that I will leave the Chamber this evening feeling uplifted and with a renewed commitment to ensure that we, as elected representatives, keep extending the ladder of participation as we strive for a truly representative political landscape. This International Women's Day is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources and activity that will have a positive impact on women's advancement, including CEDAW — Kellie Armstrong mentioned looking at CEDAW and ensuring that that is brought into much more of what we do in this place — and to support and elevate their implementation. I call on the Assembly to "Accelerate action" by reaffirming its commitment to and support for gender equality. I like the word "accelerate" because it means to go faster. Let us go faster. Let us make this happen faster. Let us make the place that we leave a much better place for our daughters, our nieces and, hopefully, our granddaughters. I certainly do not want it to be the place that it was for our mothers and grandmothers, because it was a difficult place to be. However, I will say, and I think that this was mentioned, that we are the woman we are today because of those women. I am certainly the woman I am today because of my mother, my grandmother, their mothers and the women who fought in the most difficult times here. I think of all the women and girls who went through the mother-and-baby homes in particular. Those women went through the most difficult times, but some of them are the strongest women in our community, so I want to mention them especially today.

1,482 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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