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A SINN FÉIN MEP says she’s disgusted by the use of the word ‘mompreneur’ in the European Parliament and hit out at two Fine Gael MEPs who supported legislation that included the term.
The word appeared in legislation on women and their role in rural areas and Liadh Ní Riada described it as “misogynistic language”.
“Language matters, here more than most places where we are supposed to be setting the examples that will address the many inequalities people face right across Europe. It’s an absolute scandal that in a debate on the role of women we would be employing such belittling and condescending terminology.”
Both Fine Gael TDs, Brian Hayes and Seán Kelly, told TheJournal.ie that they are genuinely concerned with the subject matter of the legislation. Hayes said:
I don’t support the term, but was happy to support the intention behind those female members of parliament who sincerely believe that more must be done to help mothers who want to start their own business living in rural communities. That’s what the report was about.
Meanwhile Kelly said, “Being a firm advocate for equality in business, in rural life, and all career paths in society for women and men, I gave my support when a woman MEP who co-authored the report personally asked me to.
I’m far more concerned with the substance of the subject matter and taking action to support women entrepreneurs.
He said the report puts forward several proposals to help women to develop their businesses in rural areas and ensure their efforts are recognised and properly valued.
‘Cutesy demeaning label’
Ni Riadha added, “If we want to support women and mothers in rural Ireland who are trying to start businesses of their own we do that by putting them on a level playing field with other entrepreneurs, not by saddling them with some cutesy label that instantly demeans them and their ambition by portraying it as some sort of bored housewife hobby.”
The term is used in magazines in the US and Canada. US magazine Entrepreneur has a dedicated section called ‘Mompreneurs’, while in Canada there is a magazine with the title Mompreneur that features articles on female entrepreneur and a Mompreneurs conference.
Both Hayes and Kelly accused Ní Riadha of using the issue to gain publicity. Kelly said, “This is typical headline-seeking from Sinn Fein – focusing on catchphrases that arise in this age of Twitter only serves to distract from the real issues.”
Brian Hayes added, “Is Liadh Ni Riadha so stuck for publicity that she resorts to attack me over a report that went through the EU Parliament that’s all about helping women in rural communities overcome real challenges?”
Ní Riada made a Point of Order challenging the use of the term ‘mompreneurs’ and said the speaker took on board her concerns and referred the issue to Language Services for review.
Poll
We’d like to go your opinion on the subject. Do you think the term mompreneur is misogynistic?
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Sticks and stones will break my bones but there will always be a way to offend a feminist.
This Sinn Fein MEP is so easily offended….Great that nothing offends her about SF past……
@Martin O Connell: spoken like a true misogynist.
@John003: in fairness they used equality in who they Disappeared, namely they disappeared men and women as Jean McConville demonstrates.
@Martin O Connell: When dadtrepreneurs and momtrepreneurs are given the same sort of labels and not treated differently, we will be happy. Feminism is looking for equal rights, nothing more.
@CazzoA: can you tell me what rights a woman doesn’t have that a man does?
@cholly appleseed: In this particular example, the right to be called an entrepreneur like their male counterpart. Entrepreneur is a unisex label. There is no need to try to reduce womens efforts to some twee label particularly in legislation.
@CazzoA: that’s not exactly a right now is it!! Christ feminism gone wrong
@cholly appleseed: Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory.
@CazzoA: OK snowflake!! But woman have been called entrepreneurs forever. It’s not a right. It’s just a fact.
Could you add ‘I don’t care’ as an option in your poll?
@Barry Kelly: There’s always one, sigh.
@Barry Kelly: you stole my comment!
@Grainne Abdulaziz: trolling again I see
@Sinbad the sailor: Well, at least Moscow are paying you for it I suppose.
This could rip the EU apart.
I also find it a very patronising term
Catching up on news here, feeling sad about what happened in Egypt. This is really just petty SF politics, point-scoring and utterly irrelevant.
@Con Cunningham: She made a fair point and got a rise out of two good for nothing’s at the same time, a job well done.
@Mr Phil Officer:
What ‘fair point’ did she make? That Feminists have run out of important issues to complain about?
This is something that I am not outraged by, there are many many bigger issues which deserve our outrage, however I do find it demeaning as a term & it does illicit an eyeroll. It’s another example of something that those MEPs should have ‘reverse-roled’. If the idea of using the term ‘dadpreneur’ would never cross their minds as a legitimate & respectful term to use, then why should mompreneur seem like an appropriate term to use. They never think these things through. As I said, there are bigger fish to fry, but they should see it as a lesson in cop-on.
FFS! I actually had to look up the new makeyuppy word, I thought that Ni Riadha would have a bigger gee in het bonnet/hat/headgear (covering myself on all angles there) about the fact that the European Peoples Party, of which FG is a member, wants to ban full face veils in all of Europe. Her Egyptian pen pal and his ould fella won’t like that!
@Brian Ward: interesting spelling there Brian, but she probably keeps it under a Freudian Slip
@Brian Ward: lol do you do that on purpose ??
@Suzie Sunshine: Dying laughing at that, what a typo.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: and there he was ” covering all angles ” . So funny !
@Brian Ward: This government should certainly ban face full masks when posing for a photograph for your national ID card. I kid you not, government wants everyone to have an ID cards but the wife in the mask has to have her husband’s permission to remove it for the snap. We are being run around in circles from Mecca worshippers now!
‘Mompreneurs’ has nothing to do with European culture & business as it’s a recent made-up word which came from the good ol’ USA. This word Mompreneur you won’t find in any other English directory apart from the American version. I asked my sister who had previously worked at home while minding her 2 boys years ago what she thought of this. She thinks the job title sounds rather ridiculous & the woman who asked these FG clowns Hayes & Kelly to do the report may have been pulling their ‘hairy’ legs as a joke.
@John Flanagan: was it George Dubbya Bush who said the French have no word for entrepreneur?
It was a Kerry man that introduced the word entrepreneur in the first place
Blatant sexism. Do they not realise that poppreneurs also face the same issues with broadband when trying to work from home in rural Ireland? Just read an article in the IT on that very subject. The pop had to give up his dream of working from his rural Offaly home where he could try to develop a business whilst still fulfilling his domestic and parental roles. Can’t understand how pops can tolerate the media just referring to them as businessmen or entrepreneurs. I mean, it really undermines who they are.
@Anne Marie Devlin: technically I’m a hubpreneur, don’t leave me out!
Is she “Ní Riadha” or “Ní Riada”? Both are totally different surnames.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: Are you Daly or Ó Dálaigh? Both are totally different surnames.
@Grainne Abdulaziz: Ugh, an ignorant fool! You’re obviously not versed in Irish language surnames. I am. Come back to me when you know a thing or two.
@Grainne Abdulaziz: trolling again
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: She’s Ní Riada, no h
We seen its getting to the point anything anybody says will offend somebody be it male female, child,teeenager etc.
@Al S Macthomais: Sounds like you’re offended.
@Grainne Abdulaziz: Not offended in any way as I have a very thick skin like rhino of managing insults but only pointing out the fact that its getting ridiculous and people off all religions, genders, nationalities all find a problem with some word or action is getting beyond a joke.
I am so actually offended by this I’ve had a full blown out of body experience while reciting the Wiccan rede in between bouts of explosive diarrhoea.
If Donald trump used the term momprenur the pc brigade here would be dancing jigs and screaming for his head…….
Id say the word is more offensice to men than to women. It somehow suggests that if you are a mother that you are automatically better than other people.
Does it offend me? No. Do I think it’s stupid? Yes. Yep it’s a bit misogynistic and pointless.. Mothers that are entrepreneurs, are just that.. Entrepreneurs
Was Jean mcconville a person or a mom?
have your say