Minister Martin addresses female representation and equality in Ireland’s arts, culture, sports and media sectors on International Women’s Day

From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media 

Speaking on International Women’s Day (8 March 2021) Minister Catherine Martin said:

"A key goal of mine as a member of government is to further gender equality within every sector under my remit. I’m committed to empowering women and I recognise how my position can help raise up women’s voices and support more equality in sectors such as sport, broadcasting, the arts, film and in the Gaeltacht.

"My department is engaged in a series

of active initiatives including partnerships in music which promote female musicians and composers; our sports schemes advocate for the active involvement of women of all ages and abilities, including a maternity policy to support elite athletes.

"The department is also involved in driving equality in other areas, including mapping clear diversity and inclusion goals for the audio visual sector; representation on state boards; and recognising the key role of women in development within the Gaeltacht and language areas.

"I am encouraged by the progress made in recent years, but I am also very aware that complacency is not a luxury we can afford for our future generations.

"So this year, as we mark International Women’s Day, let’s embrace and support more women in leadership roles everywhere."

Details of sectors and progress being made under the remit of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media include:

The Markievicz Award honours Constance de Markievicz and supports artists and new work that commemorates the role of women in the period covered by the Decade of Centenaries and beyond. Minister Catherine Martin has significantly enhanced bursaries for the period 2021-2023, with awards being made to up to 10 artists each year – double the number in previous years. The Minister plans to announce the award recipients for 2021 in May. The award is administered by the Arts Council and gender balance is a key focus of the Council’s new Equality, Human Rights and Diversity policy.

Also under the Decade of Centenaries initiative, the department developed a pop-up women’s museum, 100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life. The exhibition continues its tour of Ireland, shining a spotlight on the impact of women in shaping the State over the past 100 years.

Sounding the Feminists has established a five-year partnership with the National Concert Hall, supported by the department’s Creative Ireland Programme. The investment and initiative helps promote work by female musicians and composers. This year saw the expansion of the scheme and four female composers receiving bursaries were announced in February 2021.

The Creative Ireland Programme also continues to support projects involving the voice of women through funding provided to local authorities’ Culture and Creativity Teams. These include Crown, a project from Mayo County Council exploring the powerful symbolism of hair with Irish Traveller women, Women of Limerick, a new mobile phone app celebrating women from Limerick’s history, and South Dublin County Council’s Magdalene Series, a programme of exhibitions and events.

In film, Screen Ireland is committed to addressing gender inequality in Irish filmmaking and screen content, in particular the roles of writers and directors, including through its Six Point Plan on Gender Equality. Screen Ireland’s commitment to female filmmakers includes enhanced funding for projects with female writers and directors.

In music, Ireland Music Week and First Music Contact are partners in the global initiative Keychange, which aims to achieve gender and minority balance in live gigs and festivals. In 2020, Ireland Music Week met its Keychange target of 50/50 gender balance for the fourth year in a row. Another focus of Keychange is to drive participation from festivals and promoters towards achieving 50% representation of women. Seven Irish organisations have so far signed up.

The National Concert Hall is also celebrating International Women’s Day this year with Notes from a Quiet Land, a musical and literary response to the times in which we live, by some of Ireland’s most exciting new and leading female voices. The streamed concert features artists including Maria Doyle Kennedy, Gemma Dunleavy, Anne Enright, Fehdah, Felispeaks, Tara Flynn, Sinéad Gleeson and more. It is available to view for free on social media channels until 8pm on Monday, 8 March.

The National Library of Ireland will also host a free online talk by culinary historian, Dorothy Cashman, exploring women’s networks and recipe exchanges.

The department is committed to increasing women’s involvement in sport as coaches, volunteers, club members, athletes, advocates, leaders, and participants from grassroots to the podium. Funding provides for active participation of women of all ages and abilities, and the department’s Sports Capital and Equipment Programme awards extra assessment marks for projects that support female participation.

Supports include a maternity policy to support elite athletes and the Women in Sport Media Training Programme which provides training to help candidates in their media careers and increase visibility. Furthermore, more than €3 million has been invested in sporting Bodies and partnerships since 2019 to increase female participation, including in coaching and officiating, leadership, governance, and visibility.

Addressing the dropout rate or inactivity of teenage girls is also key Sport Ireland objective, and two projects are underway.

In 2020, Sport Ireland also established a working group to help increase the number of women progressing through coaching.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) promotes women’s work on air and ensures that their stories are told through the media. In 2019, over 70% of radio and television projects recommended for funding included a women’s narrative.

Under the BAI’s Sound & Vision funding, assessment of applications includes consideration of the number of women in key roles, as a measure to support greater gender equality. This information is then used to help assess projects.

The BAI’s Gender Action Plan of 2018 sets out four key pillars which have informed its work. This includes training and development initiatives to enable women increase their representation in the media.

The BAI’s Sectoral Learning and Development funding also supports industry networks including Women on Air and Women in Film and Television Ireland. In addition, the BAI has funded research on gender equality in the sector at Dublin City University and NUI Maynooth.

A new Women’s Staff Network was established in Údarás na Gaeltachta in 2020 to create a space for women at all stages of their careers. Údarás na Gaeltachta is the regional authority responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht. The network aims to support career development of female staff and increase the visibility of women. For International Women’s Day 2021, Údarás a Gaeltachta will host events, including a conversation on gender bias and a virtual Women’s Network event.

In addition, Dúchas.ie will hold a talk with the International Women’s Club of Dublin and launch Níl Deireadh Ráite / Not the Final Word by Peig Sayers, hosted by the Embassy of Ireland in Washington DC and the American Conference for Irish Studies.

Gender equality is also a part of a wider agenda to increase diversity in the public service and on State Boards. Later in March, Minister Martin will address an event hosted by the Public Appointments Service, which will also include Teresa Buczkowska of the Immigrant Council, who is also a member of the Arts Council. The event will be aimed at Ireland’s immigrant community, encouraging them to come forward for Board appointments.