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Lack of females in key roles in County

Fermanagh Women's Network are leading the way in addressing the issue of gender equality in the County.

Yesterday, they held a seminar to highlight the experiences of how both men and women are affected by these issues.

Margaret McCanney from Fermanagh Women's Network (FWN), who presented the seminar, explained the role of FWN and the facilities it provided in the county. She went on to outline the meaning of 'gender equality' and explained it is the opposite to gender inequality,in that it aims to promote the full participation of women and men into society.

However, Ms McCanney stated that women are often hit hardest by gender inequality. To illustrate this point, she looked a number of local organisations and their gender breakdown. For example, Fermanagh District Council has five female Councillors and 18 males, while the senior management team of the Council, which has seven posts, is made up entirely of men. On the Board of Fermanagh Local Strategy Partnership, there are 16 men to seven women, and on the Western Education and Library Board, 21 men to only seven women.

Other keynote speakers at the event included Eithne McNulty, from Trocaire who spoke in-depth about the charity's recent campaign to highlight the dangers facing female babies, particularly in the developing world. Hilary Sidwell, spoke about her role as the Equality Officer with the Western Health and Social Care Trust.