Dr Meryl Kenny discusses gender quotas on Newstalk show Talking Point

You can listen to the full programme here

Dr. Kenny was in Ireland as the invited opening speaker of a seminar entitled Gendering Political Recruitment: Women, Candidate Selection and Affirmative Action in an International Context – Lessons for Ireland, hosted by University College Cork, and funded by the Irish Research Council's 'New Foundations' Scheme. The initiative for the one-day seminar came from the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 which was passed by the Irish Parliament in July 2012, providing for a candidate selection gender quota at future general elections in Ireland. The purpose of the seminar – which included academic quota experts, politicians and practitioners – was to learn about the international experience of gender quota implementation and to identify best practice, as well as discuss the impact of gender quotas on party candidate recruitment and selection procedures.