b'bring that experience. So weve been identifying the skills and The practical mentoring for female candidates did not end withexperiences that they already have that are entirely applicable to the election. The Ireland Funds have continued their support ofpolitical life. And thats beenvery rewarding both for them and WomenForElectionthroughthesponsorshipofthefirst for us. And so, with tailored programs and advocacy, Women training session held for those women who had been elected.For Election are tackling the underrepresentation of women in With the support of The Ireland Funds, we took women on thepolitics and training women all across Ireland and the EU with next step of their political journey, says Michelle. Over 64bothformalsupportandnetworkcreation.High-qualitynewly-elected female councillors from across Ireland came training is delivered by a variety of experts around all aspects of together for an intense day focusing on building knowledgepolitical campaigns, including building committed campaign abouttheirnewrole,developingnegotiationskillsand teams, effective planning and administration, fundraising and strategies while also networking with key policy makers and budgeting,messagedevelopment,presentationskillsandexperienced senior politicians and supporters of Women formanaging the media. Women who participate report across the Election. Were delighted that The Ireland Funds could play suchboard that once inspired to participate, their levels of confidence a key role in addressing the gender imbalance in Irish politics.and competence have increased. To date, over 600 women have participated in the programs andThe tangible results were first seen in the May, 2014 local The Ireland Funds are looking forward to seeing the further and EU elections with an increase of 33% in the number of development of equality in Irish political life.women holding seats in local politics. Of the women who wereelected, half of them had participated in Women For Electiontraining.In May, 2014 the Republic of Irelands first local and European elections were held sincethe formation of Women For Election. The resulting statistics were encouraging: 50% of women elected had beneted from the Women For Election training programs Out of a total of 949 seats, there were 196 women electeda 33% jump since 2009Female representation in Local Government is now at 21%, up from 16% in 2009 2 Newly elected TDs (TD = Teachta Dla a member of Parliament) bring the number of women in the Dil to 27, the highest ever 55% of those elected to the European Parliament were womenMICHELLE ODONNELL KEATING & NIAMH GALLAGHER, FOUNDERS OF WOMEN FOR ELECTIONWhen we were a new organization, in 2012, The IrelandFunds were one of the rst organisations to get behind usthrough their grant round. What that meant was that wewere taken seriously by other funders, both nationally andinternationally.Niamh GallagherWhen we rst set up in 2012, the political parties said tous, you have a great idea, good for you, but good luck, be-cause you will never nd the women. So we said, okay,JOSEPHA MADIGAN, FINE GAEL we like a challenge and leave it with us. Now, less thanthree years later, 600 women have been through our pro-My head was saying, Why would you want this? Whygrammes.Michelle ODonnell Keatingwould you take the grief? Why would you have peoplejudge you? But my heart wouldnt let it go. The minute Istarted on it, it actually felt right for me. I think that womenbring a dierent viewpoint. Femininity is strength, its not aweakness. I decided I have something to contribute.connect2014 | 33'