The SDLP’s Councillors Laura Devlin and Doire Finn have said the lack of female representation for the keynote address at International Women’s Day is “baffling” and must be rectified.
Commenting, Mournes Councillor Devlin said, “The point of International Women’s Day is to highlight women’s issues including gender equity, women’s healthcare, addressing gender based violence and much more. The best way to do this is through hearing women’s voices and listening to their experiences. The decision taken to exclude female representation from the keynote address at Council’s Chairperson’s International Women’s Day event is just baffling. Not only this but it sends a concerning message to women and girls across the district who have a story worth hearing. At the outset we need to know who made this decision, and how this wrong can be put right. Our team is now making these representations to the Council CEO and Chairperson.”
Newry’s Councillor Doire Finn also commented, “As a first term Councillor and a young woman it is incredibly disappointing that Council took this approach. In approaching this conference we certainly would not want to exclude Billy Dixon from a discussion panel, but excluding women from the keynote address is not acceptable. Our Council team have been contacted by a significant number of people already about this who are just so disappointed in the Council’s decision. The theme of IWD 2024 is meant to be about Investing in Women: Accelerating Progress. There are many women across our district who could have offered an incredible address on this, and sadly, they have been excluded. If the Council is serious about investing in women, then they need to sort this out before the Chairperson’s event next week.”
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