Fórsa added its voice at the National Women’s Council Dublin rally, which called for progress on gender-based violence and other women’s issues this International Women’s Day. The 5th March protest was held outside Dáil Éireann to call for political leadership and action on women's equality.

The union supported calls for a reformed healthcare system with women at its centre, greater female representation when decisions affecting women’s lives are made, and access to quality public services including childcare and housing.

Speaking at the rally, ICTU general secretary Patricia King highlighted Ireland’s 14% gender pay gap. She said the lack of affordable childcare greatly contributed to the disproportionate burden of caring responsibilities, which led to women working fewer hours.

The rally also heard that one-parent families were at the centre of our housing crisis, and that Traveller women continued to have a lower life expectancy than settled women. And it called for significant investment to boost crucial public services and tackle the high costs of living.

Ireland currently has some of the highest childcare costs in Europe and some of the lowest paid childcare workers.

Fórsa has demanded an interdepartmental plan to tackle gender-based violence in a new national strategy for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which is set to be launched later this month.

Meanwhile, Fórsa’s Equality Committee has also called for the urgent introduction of legislation and a more consistent approach to tackle gender-based violence in Ireland. The union has demanded an interdepartmental plan to tackle gender-based violence in the new national strategy.

Fórsa official Lisa Connell also represented the union at the rally, and said it was essential that the voices and interests of working women were represented. 

Fórsa has recently welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will this year introduce an obligation on medium and large employers to report on their gender pay gaps. But the union said it wants a quick expansion of the number of companies covered by the new law.

Trade unions have previously been shown to play a key role in achieving a ‘zero’ gender pay gap. According to the chief executive of An Post – one the rare Irish companies to reduce its gender pay gap to zero – a heavily-unionised workplace is key to achieving gender pay equality.

An Post started publishing its pay gap figures three years ago, and this had contributed to the elimination of the divide.