Adrian Kavanagh – updated on 11th May 2011
Constituency level figures on candidate selection by gender for the upcoming 2011 General Election.
First looking at figures for Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail. Sinn Fein are not contesting five constituencies. Females account for 14.7% of the 75 Fianna Fail candidates (11 in total) – this 14.7% representing the highest ever percentage of females on a Fianna Fail ticket - and 19.5% of Sinn Fein candidates (8 in total) – there is no female Sinn Fein candidate in 36 constituencies (but the party is running two female candidates in Mayo) and no female Fianna Fail candidate in 32 constituencies:
| Sinn Fein | Fianna Fail | ||||
| Constituency | Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Carlow-Kilkenny | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Cavan-Monaghan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Clare | 4 | 2 | |||
| Cork East | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Cork North-Central | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cork North-West | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Cork South-Central | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Cork South-West | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Donegal North-East | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Donegal South-West | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dublin Central | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dublin Mid-West | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North | 4 | 2 | |||
| Dublin North-Central | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-East | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-West | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-Central | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-East | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-West | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dublin West | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dun Laoghaire | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Galway East | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Galway West | 5 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Kerry North-West Limerick | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Kerry South | 3 | 1 | |||
| Kildare North | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Kildare South | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Laois-Offaly | 5 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Limerick City | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Limerick | 3 | 1 | |||
| Longford-Westmeath | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Louth | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Mayo | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meath East | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Meath West | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Roscommon-South Leitrim | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Sligo-North Leitrim | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Tipperary North | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tipperary South | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Waterford | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Wexford | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Wicklow | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||
| TOTAL | 33 | 8 | 64 | 11 |
Next Fine Gael and Labour, the two parties who were the most pro-active in selecting their election candidates early. Females account for 15.4% of all Fine Gael candidates and 26.5% of all Labour candidates:
| Fine Gael | Labour | ||||
| Constituency | Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Carlow-Kilkenny | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cavan-Monaghan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Clare | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Cork East | 4 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Cork North-Central | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cork North-West | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cork South-Central | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cork South-West | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Donegal North-East | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Donegal South-West | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin Central | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dublin Mid-West | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dublin North | 4 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Dublin North-Central | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-East | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dublin North-West | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dublin South | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dublin South-Central | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dublin South-East | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dublin South-West | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dublin West | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dun Laoghaire | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Galway East | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Galway West | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Kerry North-West Limerick | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Kerry South | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Kildare North | 4 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Kildare South | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Laois-Offaly | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Limerick City | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Limerick | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Longford-Westmeath | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Louth | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Mayo | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meath East | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Meath West | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Roscommon-South Leitrim | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Sligo-North Leitrim | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Tipperary North | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tipperary South | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Waterford | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wexford | 5 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Wicklow | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| TOTAL | 88 | 16 | 50 | 18 |
The United Left Alliance grouping has 20 candidates (including 9 People Before Profit Alliance and 9 Socialist Party candidates) with female candidates accounting for 25.0% of these (though females account for 44.4% of all the selected People Before Profit candidates). The Green Party currently have candidates selected for each of the 43 constituencies and they have selected eight female candidates (18.6% of current total):
| United Left Alliance | Greens | ||||
| Constituency | Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Carlow-Kilkenny | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cavan-Monaghan | 5 | 1 | |||
| Clare | 4 | 1 | |||
| Cork East | 4 | 1 | |||
| Cork North-Central | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cork North-West | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cork South-Central | 5 | 1 | |||
| Cork South-West | 3 | 1 | |||
| Donegal North-East | 3 | 1 | |||
| Donegal South-West | 3 | 1 | |||
| Dublin Central | 4 | 1 | |||
| Dublin Mid-West | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-Central | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-East | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin North-West | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-Central | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-East | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin South-West | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dublin West | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dun Laoghaire | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Galway East | 4 | 1 | |||
| Galway West | 5 | 1 | |||
| Kerry North-West Limerick | 3 | 1 | |||
| Kerry South | 3 | 1 | |||
| Kildare North | 4 | 1 | |||
| Kildare South | 3 | 1 | |||
| Laois-Offaly | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Limerick City | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Limerick | 3 | 1 | |||
| Longford-Westmeath | 4 | 1 | |||
| Louth | 5 | 1 | |||
| Mayo | 5 | 1 | |||
| Meath East | 3 | 1 | |||
| Meath West | 3 | 1 | |||
| Roscommon-South Leitrim | 3 | 1 | |||
| Sligo-North Leitrim | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tipperary North | 3 | 1 | |||
| Tipperary South | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Waterford | 4 | 1 | |||
| Wexford | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Wicklow | 5 | 1 | |||
| TOTAL | 15 | 5 | 35 | 8 | |
And finally, the numbers for the “Others” grouping (of which females account for 9.3% of the 215 candidates within the independents and smaller parties grouping) and the current constituency totals:
| Other | Male | Female | |||
| Constituency | Male | Female | |||
| Carlow-Kilkenny | 5 | 7 | 15 | 4 | |
| Cavan-Monaghan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Clare | 4 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 3 |
| Cork East | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Cork North-Central | 4 | 7 | 14 | 1 | |
| Cork North-West | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| Cork South-Central | 5 | 8 | 15 | 2 | |
| Cork South-West | 3 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Donegal North-East | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| Donegal South-West | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Dublin Central | 4 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 4 |
| Dublin Mid-West | 4 | 5 | 12 | 2 | |
| Dublin North | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | |
| Dublin North-Central | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | |
| Dublin North-East | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1 | |
| Dublin North-West | 3 | 4 | 11 | 1 | |
| Dublin South | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
| Dublin South-Central | 5 | 8 | 16 | 2 | |
| Dublin South-East | 4 | 8 | 14 | 2 | |
| Dublin South-West | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | |
| Dublin West | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | |
| Dun Laoghaire | 4 | 6 | 11 | 3 | |
| Galway East | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Galway West | 5 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| Kerry North-West Limerick | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| Kerry South | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | |
| Kildare North | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| Kildare South | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |
| Laois-Offaly | 5 | 10 | 20 | 1 | |
| Limerick City | 4 | 4 | 11 | 2 | |
| Limerick | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| Longford-Westmeath | 4 | 5 | 11 | 4 | |
| Louth | 5 | 8 | 15 | 1 | |
| Mayo | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| Meath East | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Meath West | 3 | 5 | 10 | 3 | |
| Roscommon-South Leitrim | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| Sligo-North Leitrim | 3 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Tipperary North | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Tipperary South | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| Waterford | 4 | 8 | 14 | 1 | |
| Wexford | 5 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
| Wicklow | 5 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 195 | 20 | 480 | 86 |
Well under one in six – 15.2% – of the 566 candidates who will be contesting General Election 2011 are female, a level that is 2.0% below the 2007 level of 17.4%. If the “Others” grouping is excluded and selections by the main political parties instead focused on, the percentage of female candidacies would currently stand at 18.9%, a roughly equivalent level to the 19.1% level recorded for the 2007 contest and 18.9% level recorded for the 2002 election (these figures including candidate numbers for the parties that currently comprise the United Left Alliance grouping).
As well as Labour and the United Left Alliance being the parties with the highest percentage of female candidates at present, there is also a tendency for higher levels of female candidacies to be associated with larger (4-seat and 5-seat) constituency sizes. At present females just account for 13.8% of the candidates selected to run in three-seat constituencies, as compared with a level of 15.4% for 4-seat constituencies and 16.2% for 5-seat constituencies.
There is also a geographical dimension. Females have traditionally been more likely to be selected to contest constituencies in Dublin, but at present this is not the case for the upcoming 2011 contest with females accounting for just 16.1% of the total number of candidates selected in the Dublin constituencies. Females account for a disappointing 13.2% of currently selected candidates in Leinster and 13.3% in Munster, the regions with the lowest level of female candidacies. The Connacht-Ulster region, where females only accounted for 16.1% of all candidates in 2007, compares much more favourably in 2011 with female candidates accounting for 19.6% of all Connacht-Ulster candidates – the highest level of all of the different regions. Females account for 15.2% of all candidates in the urban constituencies (Dublin, Cork NC, Cork SC, Limerick C, Galway W) and 15.2% of all candidates in the other, more rural, constituencies.
There are currently no female candidates running in the following four constituencies: Cork South-West, Kildare South, Limerick and Roscommon-South Leitrim. Clare, Donegal North-East, Dublin North, Kerry North-West Limerick and Wexford may also be added to this list if one is only looking at the five largest parties; Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour, Green Party and Sinn Fein. In 2007, no female candidate contested Cork South-West, Dublin North-East, Limerieck West (now Limerick), Meath West and Roscommon-South Leitrim – no female candidate from one of the six largest parties in that election (FF, FG, LB, PD, GP, SF) contested Dublin North or Waterford also. In 2002, no female candidate contested Cavan-Monaghan, Cork North-West, Dublin Central, Dublin South West, Kildare North. Kerry North, Limerick West, Tipperary South and Waterford - no female candidate from one of the six largest parties in that election (FF, FG, LB, PD, GP, SF) contested Sligo-Leitrim also.
Finally it is worth noting that party headquarters do have the power to add candidates to the list of party candidates in a constituency and there is the possibility that they could opt to do so to better balance their parties’ selections gender-wise. However, the sense for the 2011 election is that this does not seem to have been a major concern for the parties; candidates generally seem to have been added instead on the basis of geographically balancing party tickets. Indeed females only accounted for 5 of the 27 candidates directly added by party headquarters for this election.
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really nice breakdown, but horrifying stats relating to lack of female candidates, which is shocking in this day and age
maybe enforced gender quotas may not be a bad way to go, for 2-3 election cycles, and then remove them…. might be more of a tradition of gender equality by then… something has to give!
cheers for sharing all this hard work!
Very depressing statistics indeed. Maybe if we had had more equality in the last government , we might not be in such a huge financial mess. Women are not regarded as equal citizens in this country still. Less pay, less promotion, less CEOs of companies,even less women as managers at senior level in the civil service. You would think that the public service at least would have to have equal representation considering tax payers money funds the public service but no. In health ,it is the same policy, discrimination against women. For example, we have seen mammograms taken out of all the smaller hospitals and only available in 8 centres. Breastcheck mammograms are only available from age 50-64 yrs. But the 720 women between 35-50 yrs who get breast cancer annually are told to wait until they have lumps before they can get access to a mammogram. 25% of them are thus metastatic ( incurable) at first presentation because they are found too late. This age group lose jobs, have little children and lose their fertlilty as a result of advanced cancer diagnoses in this age group because of this ridiculous rule. All to save money for the HSE. Surely,you don’t withdraw access to early detection facilities in the midst of an epidemic but that is what has happened here. We really need women’s voices to be listened to and not drowned out as the last 15 years of Fianna Fail has done. I really think Fine Gael will show us respect for our achievments and a renewal of belief in our strong, conscientious women.