Sir, – Hugh Gibney (October 28th) makes a valid point when he writes that the content of what the speakers at this week's Web Summit in Dublin say should matter more than their gender.
It should, of course, be the case in every industry that the content of what people say matters more than their gender and, indeed, that the best qualified person is always chosen for the job. Academically, women have consistently outperformed men over the past number of years, so it cannot be the case that they do not have the relevant knowledge or expertise, regardless of the industry. The problem is not that they have nothing to say, merely that they are not invited to say it.
Women account for 82 per cent of graduates in health and welfare, 74 per cent of graduates in education and 63 per cent of graduates in arts and humanities. Yet a mere 15 per cent of our TDs are women, a little over one third of the members of State boards are women and less than a fifth of the members of local authorities are women.
It is a matter of concern that men do not appear to think primary school teaching is a viable career opportunity. Nevertheless, although 85 per cent of primary school teachers are indeed women, only 53 per cent of them are managers. In secondary education 63 per cent of teachers are women but only 41 per cent of them are managers.
Mr Gibney is concerned about future imbalances in law and medicine. Clearly, with the academic results above, there should already be a massive imbalance. The fact that it hasn’t happened leads me to believe that although we have equipped ourselves with the intellectual ability to compete at the highest level, women still haven’t learned to edge their male counterparts off the podium. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA O’FLANAGAN,
Copeland Grove,
Clontarf, Dublin 3.