 Overview of gender relations in Ireland now  How has gender relations in Ireland been problematized in the literature – Ireland’s exceptionalism  A timeline of the development of gender relations in Ireland and the impact of feminism as a social movement on ‘ideas’ on gender

 Comparing Ireland to other states – to what extent is Ireland different?  Religious observance – over 63% go to ‘mass’, high by European standards, 60% in Poland, less than 40% in Italy.  Fertility high end for developed country -2%, births outside marriage average (a third)  Divorce and marriage breakdown low  14 %-Ireland, 56% -Germany, 17%-Italy, 41%-Spain.  Age of marriage high: 33 men, 31 women

 Women perform comparatively well in education  Women’s employment rates slightly above EU average  Childcare provision is very poor  Political representation is low  What is the class dimension to gender relations? Individuality in tax system not in fully in social welfare. Class dimension to marriage. Access to resources

 rankCountry% women  2Sweden 46.4%  6Netherland 40.7%  7Finland 40.0%  9Belgium39.3%  13Denmark 38.0%  14Spain 36.6%  18Germany 32.8%  29Austria 27.9%  33Portugal27.4%  52UK 22.0%  56Italy 21.3%  64France 18.9%  72Greece 17.3%  84Ireland 13.9%  rankCountry% women  1Rwanda56.3%  3South Africa 44.5%  10Mozambique39.2%  12Argentina38.5%  24Tanzania30.7%  50Pakistan22.2%  51Canada22.1%  73USA16.8%

 123  France  Germany  Italy  UK  Spain  Belgium  Sweden3251(3)67(3)  Ireland3153(2)56(7)  Finland  Greece  Netherlands  Denmark  Austria274840

 Divorce only came into effect in 1997  Abortion has not been legislated for  Contraception reform happened comparatively late beginning in 1979  Historically an European outlier in terms fertility and family formation

 The impact of nationalism  The impact of religion  The dominance of rural values  The impact of the colonial experience  Conservative gender values compared to other European and developed states – meaning lower status for women  Lower labour force engagement for women  Dominance of Catholic church teaching on sexual morality

 Two periods of intense activity experienced internationally  : first wave feminism associated with the campaign for the vote – but had a wider agenda for greater equality  1968-mid 1970s: second wave feminism associated with a campaign for full equality and sexual self determination  Impacted on Ireland concurrently with impact on other European states