Marie-Jeanne DA COL RICHERT UdS

CONGRES SOFEIR NANTES 12-13 MARS 2010 IRELAND : LANDSCAPES

Subject:

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s

changing status and role since the 1970s”

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s changing status and role since the 1970s”

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s changing status and role since the 1970s”

Secularisation process: the traditional division of roles called into questionIssue of women’s empowerment in urban and rural Ireland

First part: Urban visibility

Elimination of discrimination against women in the 1970s; establishment of equality of rights.

Removal of marriage bar in 19731974 Anti-discrimination (Pay) Act1977 Employment Equality Act1981 Maternity (Protection of Employees ) Act2000 Equal Status Act and 2004 Equality Act

62% women engaged in domestic duties in 1971, 41% in 199742% women in paid jobs in 1996, 52.5% in 2007

2003 study: legalisation of contraception linked with birth of Celtic Tiger Dramatic increase of women’s presence in developing services sector in urban

centres, in greater Dublin area in particularVisibility of a new female group: the Irish Yuppies

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s changing status and role since the 1970s”

Second part: Treading water in rural areas

Limited access to public services and facilities in rural areas (health care, child care for ex.)

Invisibility of “helper women”, higher number of “married, widowed and older women” Persistence of women’s traditional role

(yet ICA membership decreasing since the 1970s)Disappearance of B&Bs, of local shop and post officeWomen under-represented at decision making level, on Health Boards, VECs etc.Low-paid part time jobs available mostlyFemale poverty increasing as well as number of women at-risk-of-povertyVulnerable female categories left behind

Picture of rural Ireland almost unchanged

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s changing status and role since the 1970s”

Third part: Mobility, the sinews of the post feminist women’s struggle

Migration of young educated qualified women from rural to urban IrelandDepopulation of inner cities, development of suburban areasCity dwellers: commutersNew public transport infrastructures in urban areasLack of public transport, of access to Information and Communications

Technology in rural areasA case in point: Caherciveen in South Kerry

The South Kerry Women’s AssociationMothers and daughters: widening generation gap

In Conclusion:Growing contrast between urban and rural areas resulting from development of

liberal economyFrom a woman’s perspective: two worlds apartNeed for research institutions interested in rural womenSpecific consequences of current crisis for Irish women to be studied

“Changes in rural and urban landscapes and Irish women’s changing status and role since the 1970s”