num_pages: 184
description: This book charts the development of women's active involvement in public policy affairs in Ireland. This involvement did not happen overnight. Instead, over the last twenty years or so, there has been a steady trend towards the incorporation of women's views into the policy making process. The book illustrates how women challenged their marginal position in the public sphere. It traces their routes to becoming significant influencers in key areas of public policy by their engagements with political institutions and with decision-makers within the institutional framework. Furthermore, it shows for the first time in the literature on women and politics in Ireland how women organized to shape a political agenda which reflected their concerns.The traditional focus of politics has been to 'manage' women. This book illustrates how Irish women 'managed' the political system in pursuit of their aims. While some groups were more successful than others, the process of women's interest representation over the last twenty five years has resulted in a significant body of legislative reform. This book is about the politics of making some of those laws. In the process, it highlights the manner in which policy is made in the Republic of Ireland.The book brings a wealth of new and previously unpublished information to the reader which throws light on women's political activity and on the process of policy making in Ireland. As the range of issues of specific interest to women continues to expand, this book will act as a benchmark from which the future development of public policy on women's issues can be measured.
language: English
title: Women and Politics in Contemporary Ireland: From the Margins to the Mainstream
titlecomplete: Women and Politics in Contemporary Ireland: From the Margins to the Mainstream
publisher: Pinter Publishers