Gender imbalance in local politics highlighted as Mayo fails to elect a female Cathaoirleach
Mayo is among nine counties across Ireland that failed to elect a female Cathoirleach within its municipal districts, highlighting a gender gap in local politics.
Of the 100 Municipal District Chair positions nationwide, only 22 are held by women. In Mayo the four Municipal District Council Cathaoirligh positions are held by men, as are three of the four Leas-Cathaoirligh positions.
Alongside Mayo, counties Donegal, Offaly, Limerick, Roscommon, Kilkenny, Carlow, Kildare and Westmeath all failed to elect a single municipal district female Cathaoirleach. Additionally, out of the 31 local authorities in Ireland, only seven have a female Chairperson.
Municipal districts operate as a sub-division of a county council, de-centralising the decision making process and bringing power closer to the local level. They oversee the implementation of local programmes, debate and decide on matters specific to their communities, and represent their residents' concerns.
The Cathaoirleach of a Municipal District Council presides over issues ranging from roadworks and footpaths, to public lighting, parking bye-laws and litter management. While the majority of council spending is determined at county level, the Chairperson of a municipal district can direct the use of the General Municipal Allocation.
See Her Elected (SHE) is a community-led initiative that is aimed at increasing the representation of women in local politics, particularly in rural areas where female participation has historically been low.
Programme Manager for SHE, Dr Michelle Maher, stated her disappointment in seeing so few women in these leadership roles.
“Municipal District Chairs are central to how local government functions and are a strong visible reminder that local politics is not a male preserve,” said Dr Maher, “The absence of women from these posts sends the wrong message to younger generations about women and political power and deprives our communities of diverse leadership.”
See Her Elected graph showing the number of female municipal district Cathoirligh nationwide.
SHE are calling on political parties, community organisations and government bodies to take action to ensure that by 2026 the gender gap in local politics narrows. They state that “political parties have a critical responsibility to promote gender equality within their membership” and say that parties should prioritise the selection and support of female candidates.
Dr Maher added: “As the saying goes, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ The absence of women in visible positions of political power limits the aspirations of the next generation. It’s not enough to celebrate the few, we must work to change the system so that women are no longer the exception in leadership, but the norm”.
Launched in 2019 by Longford Women’s Link and fully funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the SHE programme recently held four seminars in Mayo. They explored topics including the history of women in Mayo politics, the responsibilities of Mayo County Council and the day-to-day role of a county councillor.
Megan Flynn Dixon is the communications and development manager with SHE and has emphasised the urgent need for more female representation: “Since Nellie Robinson’s election in 1967, only 12 women have ever been elected to Mayo County Council. Women’s perspectives have been missing from key decisions for far too long. We want to change that.”
Bloomberg published an analysis of Inter-Parlimentary Union data and found that Ireland’s parliament is the worst for gender diversity in western Europe. In Ireland female representation is just over 25pc, much lower than the western European average of 37pc.
The absence of female municipal district Chairs in Mayo and in other counties highlights a persistent gender gap in local political leadership. With only 22 of 100 such roles held by women, groups like SHE are calling for political parties and institutions to take action ahead of the 2026 local elections.
SHE say that increasing female representation is not just about fairness, it’s about ensuring that local government reflects the diversity of the communities it serves.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.