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Irish airwaves 'should be monitored every year for gender balance'

The National Women’s Council will be meeting with the BAI on the issue.

THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S Council of Ireland (NWCI) is to ask the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to monitor the Irish airwaves for gender balance on a yearly basis.

In 2015, a report called Hearing Women’s Voices?, part funded by the BAI, was published by the NWCI and DCU’S Institute for Future Media and Journalism. It involved monitoring Irish radio stations to assess the level of representation of women presenters and guests on current affairs shows.

It found that current affairs programmes had a poor representation of women presenters and guests, and there were overall much fewer women’s voices in comparison to men.

The NWCI was very critical of the stations at the time, and the pressure did lead to some changes. But the organisation fears that if regular monitoring does not take place, stations will not make big enough changes when it comes to gender balance on air.

Orla O’Connor of the NWCI told TheJournal.ie:

We want the BAI to do a regular monitoring in the way that we did a few years ago, because what we found is that when a spotlight is put on the radio stations they take notice – some of them are embarrassed and then there can be a flurry of activity. But unless that is kept under a constant spotlight the urgency dies down until we do that again.

She said that the NWCI doesn’t have the resources to do regular monitoring.

“If the BAI were doing that annual monitoring piece, from our experience the news stations don’t like the negative publicity they get. From our experience and when we have done those monitoring reports, we do get an immediate response and then it dies down -that’s why it needs to be on a consistent basis.”

Proactive measures

The council also wants the BAI and the Communications Minister Denis Naughten ”to look at what proactive measures should be taken by stations and what sanctions need to be sought if they aren’t meeting the targets that are set”.

She said that the monitoring would not just be around gender balance in terms of presenting, but also around “addressing gender issues all the way through”, such as guests and gender-based issues that are discussed on air.

“From our research it was also about experts, bringing women on more as victims in terms of issues, rather than for analysis as experts. So in addition to asking the BAI to do that regular monitoring we think the stations need to do an annual report in terms of their progress in relation to gender equality within the station,” said O’Connor.

“That needs to be monitored, whether through the BAI or department. It needs to be taken on in a much more proactive way. This situation, it isn’t improving to the level that we would hope that it would have improved. So it needs some real proactive measures.”

But she said there had been some positive advances made, particularly in RTE, “and that was really important”.

“What we would be interested in seeing is has that sustained and has it grown in terms of other programmes,” she said of future monitoring. “And we don’t know that without the data. That’s why we absolutely need that regular data, at least it holds all the stations to account.”

She said that the monitoring also needs to be done in more extensive way. The NWCI did its research over the course of a week. As for what stations should be included, O’Connor said that national stations would be a start, noting that some local stations told the NWCI that they had “a much greater gender balance” than national stations.

The NWCI will seek a meeting with the BAI and with Minister Naughten on the issue.

Gender quotas

Last year, Communications Minister Denis Naughten told TheJournal.ie that he is prepared to introduce gender quotas for Irish radio stations if recommended in a forthcoming report. The report, by Dr Kevin Rafter, is due this month or February.

Though his powers cover public service broadcasters such as RTÉ and TG4, Naughten said that the quotas could even be extended to commercial stations if the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was willing to connect them to licensing agreements.

O’Connor said that in terms of private stations such as those run by Communicorp, “that is where the BAI come in”. She suggested that conditions could be put with licences, but said that the renewal time of licences needs to be looked at, as often quite a period of time has passed before licences come up for renewal.

“We need to look at more proactive measures in between,” said O’Connor.

‘I locked myself in a room for a week with three radios’

Lucy Keaveney has been monitoring the Irish airwaves on-and-off over the past few years, in order to see what gender balance is like in the current affairs arena.

“When I retired I did Equality Studies in UCD, and I love current affairs and I would always have a radio on in the house no matter what room I was in. And I began to notice there was an awful lot of men on air, but you can’t say there is an awful lot of men without figures,” she told TheJournal.ie.

“I did the survey on my own – I locked myself in a room for a week with three radios,” she said. They were tuned to Today FM, Newstalk and RTÉ.

“I was like a zombie when it finished. The figures were very bad in 2010. Morning Ireland was 14% representation. I got such a dose, I said ‘never again’.”

But she was persuaded by Dolores Gibbons, who wrote a masters thesis on the topic of women and media, to keep going. ”It’s very hard to go back, when you know things are bad, to go back and realise that nothing is changing,” said Keaveney of what she discovered.

“I am a retired teacher: if there was an accident in the yard staff would get together and would devise a policy to prevent it from happening again.”

She said that stations are “just plodding along and trotting out the same hapenny month after month, year after year”.

Keaveney believes that for things to change, Irish radio stations need unconscious bias training. “That has to go from the very bottom, the camera person, the interviewer who goes out on the street. Vox pops – sometimes it will be mostly male and the men will often get named and the women won’t. It’s nauseating. It makes watching TV and listening to radio particularly impossible for me.”

Keaveney’s findings from 2010 – 2017 are below:

PastedImage-39982 Lucy Keaveney Lucy Keaveney

Read: ‘You won’t hear a woman’s voice, and it’s not acceptable’: What are Irish radio stations doing about gender balance?>

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85 Comments
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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 6:55 AM

    I think this his complete horses#*t!
    But before people start screeching at me, hear me & hear me well…I couldn’t care if it was 100% female nor 100% male so long as the people are good like.
    Whatever happened to the best person gets the job??
    I want to live in a meritocracy, where people are rewarded for their hard work & talent, not rewarded purely to fill some gender quota…& At the risk of sounding too much like meself… starting to feel very Communist around here…

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    Mute Anne Kerins
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:20 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: totally agree

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    Mute gjpb
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:40 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: there’s a call to hear from more female victims.

    Unfortunately there are plenty of feminazi victims so they should have no problem finding any

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:52 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: The Broadcast authority is funded by the general public. Should we not have a say in how they spend their time. I for one don’t want them wasting their time monitoring gender balance. I don’t even want them wasting their time taking the meeting. Why does the women’s council even get to have a meeting. I bet if I rolled up wanting a meeting on behalf of the national Mary Murphy Council I would not get a meeting, so why do the women’s council. My guess..the Broadcast authority are scared of being seen as politically incorrect. When will all this bull541t stop!

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:03 AM

    @gjpb: You said ‘feminazi’! LOL!

    And before you choke on it, this is simply a call for radio broadcasts to be MONITORED for gender balance. It’s just an information gathering exercise!

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:08 AM

    @Mary Murphy: Good point John. How dare an organisation seeking equality for women ask for information to gathered on inequality! Grrrr! I’m an outraged woman too.

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    Mute gjpb
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:19 AM

    @Coles: we all know what will result from the monitoring!!

    And its feminazis who are performing this work and playing the victim again

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    Mute Maria Hickey-Fagan
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:11 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: I agree with you. As a woman, I would hate to think that my gender, rather than my abilities, got me a job. If an equally able male and female went for a job and the employer chooses the female purely because she’s a female, then I think that’s a massive insult to her. It’s as bad as not choosing her because she’s a female. Gender should not come into it at all.

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:11 AM
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    Mute gjpb
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:23 AM

    @Coles: man hating feminist

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:15 AM

    @Coles: gender balance on the airwaves should not be were they are wasting their time. ..and my money. In a perfect world with endless resources then go for it but there are much more pressing issues. Btw who is John

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    Mute Let free speech live
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:13 AM

    Will they monitor bin lorries for gender balance? Building sites? Schools or hospitals? Do they want actual gender balance or just gender balance in certain areas?

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    Mute Robert Deane
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:52 AM

    @Let free speech live: God if they did have women here. Then health and safety would be worse than it already is.

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    Mute Harry Whitehead
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:59 AM

    @Let free speech live: Identity politics doesn’t work that way. It exists to allow priveliged people the chance to play the victim based on what their birth certificate says rather than their bank statements. Who gives a toss about gender imbalance in jobs for the commoners when you can make a much bigger storm about boardroom promotions, political safe seats or media contracts?

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    Mute Let free speech live
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:04 AM

    @Harry Whitehead: Silly me thinking it was general equality they wanted. So it’s just equality for the high profile high paid jobs. Now I understand

    69
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    Mute The Guru
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    Jan 8th 2018, 6:59 AM

    In my experience Irish women seem to have much less interest in current affairs and politics than men. Before I get attacked yes I know it’s a generalisation and may not have any merit. The comments in the article don’t allude to any backed up data whatsoever other than they listened to the radio and heard more men than women. Have they looked at how many people applied for these jobs and what the radio was? Or how many female experts who want to go on radio vs men?

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    Mute The Guru
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:48 AM

    @Fred Croydon: no Fred, the solution is to reduce the amount of males accepted to the course to be equal to the number of females. Sure it’ll result in more unskilled men on the dole but at least we’ll have equality!

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    Mute Marty Gormley
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    Jan 8th 2018, 6:57 AM

    Absolute nonsense.

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    Mute ed w
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:16 AM

    Any chance of getting rid of marina finucane? How that woman gets a salary for what she calls a radio show I’ll never know maybe they could replace her with a presenter.

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    Mute Mr. H
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:03 AM

    No, no they shouldn’t. Nothing should be monitored for gender balance. It’s impossible if you stop to think. In our society there are roles that are better suited to women and some better suited to men. This gender balance rubbish has gone on for too long already. Ireland is well an truly a backwards place thinking that women should be offered a job just because, well, reasons. Can we all please grow up and stop acting like spoiled teenagers who believe the universe owes them something??

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:15 AM

    @Mr. H: What? How is it impossible to monitor? Can you not tell the difference between a woman’s voice and man? Obey there’s even a simple bit of software available that could do it automatically. It would probably cost nothing to do it.

    It’s just information. Don’t be scared of it.

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    Mute Liam Austin
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:31 AM

    @Coles: stop assuming someone’s gender jeez have you learned anything from your sjw friends. Every presenter in Ireland should be surveyed and asked what gender they are.

    Thinking out loud if all men identified as women would their be an equality problem.

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    Mute Mr. H
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    Jan 8th 2018, 3:10 PM

    @Coles: Oy, dim-dim… Obvisiously I wasn’t just referring to radio but all positions that spout this gender balance nonsense. And scared? Scared of what? If you mean stupid then yes, I am very scared as society seems unbelievably stupid these days.

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    Mute Frank Dubogovik
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:31 AM

    Lottie Ryan
    Jennifer zamparelli
    Katherine Thomas

    This superior “talent” should be on the airwaves MUCH more than men??????

    Surely the best person for the job should get it????

    Gender quotas aren’t in general a great idea….the Scottish police went down this road in the 80s…and it backfired miserably……best person should get the job.

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    Mute gordon larney
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:53 AM

    @Frank Dubogovik: Lottie Ryan’s ravey Friday best half hour of the week!!!! Friday morning at 6:00am

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:36 AM

    Carodeer ~ IT’s always Middle class women as well, on T.V. as well, with those awful Dublin 4 accents, or even badly laundered Dublin accents.
    Middle minded, middle class, safe women are offensive to me as an independent women, so is the fact that working class men and women have a harder time entering most Media jobs.

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:50 AM

    @Rosemarie Martin: Baby… where you been all me life!

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    Mute Gav Brosnan
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    Jan 8th 2018, 6:52 AM

    They should be monitored for quality. Some amount of shite out there – male and female

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    Mute Dwayne Jordan
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:45 AM

    This is never ending on the Journal.ie gender balance, gender balance, gender balance it’s constant. Please stop!

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    Mute Unitedpeople
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:15 AM

    They should be first monitored for political balance, honesty and wages better distributed (not a tiny elite percentage at the top creaming it).

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    Mute Fomorian
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:06 AM

    This nonsense is being propagated by a few rabid feminists who evidently have a problem with men, and the media who either see this as a divisive subject that will increase profits, or who are owned by people who share such an idiotic viewpoint as the NWC. All this misandry should be rejected with great immediacy by the general population of this country.

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    Mute Fomorian
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:19 AM

    @Coles: Oh dear you know nothing about me, so please refrain from make such a slanderous judgement on my character. I fail to see how I have used the word ‘feminist’ as a swear word or how such a thing is possible, but if you are so insistent on believing your own imaginative thoughts to be truthful, then please do persist. I would hate to be of offence to you.

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    Mute Joe Soap
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:06 AM

    If more women had Willies then this wouldn’t be a problem

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    Mute Denis Mc Kenna
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:16 AM

    The simple solution is to have separate station for men and women.Then we could have stations that would deal with men’s issues which are largely ignored by the pussified media at the moment.Though of course the present crew of emasculated male presenters could transfer over to the women stations as they are so fearful of upsetting the strident feminists they have lost all credibility and respect .Specific women stations could bang on about gender pay gap etc and get their PC knickers in a twist to their hearts content without boring the rest of us.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Jan 8th 2018, 12:49 PM

    @Denis Mc Kenna: agree – I am starting a new ‘mens movement’ that will require ‘gender balance’ in the city centre for retail as I find that its very biased towards womens clothing , with shoes and bags a particular problem. Department stores are easily 80% make up perfumes and womens clothing , all the main malls and streets are totally biased to women and its a disgrace – I will be calling for an even 50/50 balance and think it should be ‘monitored’ – I will present a table of my findings next week with the % breakdown for female shops and ask the government to intervene because every time I go into now I find it very disheartening all together.

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    Mute Ian McNally
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:30 AM

    So Lucy did “equality studies” when she retired did she? I wonder if this course mentioned the inequality of suicide rates being far higher in men than women? Or the blanket inequality of mens lack of representation as primary school teachers? Or any number of areas where men face very blatant inequality? Ive a funny feeling such inconvenient topics were never raised…..

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:34 AM

    Yawn, Yawn. Even Germaine Greer and Camilia Paglia would laugh at this…
    Regardless of Sex, people in the Media, [and politics] should be employed on the
    basis of their ability to interview/present in an impartial way, to allow diversity of thought without firing people. The whole PC thing has gone Crazy

    I certainly won’t listen to horse sh-t on the radio because it’s a womans voice.

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    Mute 245hkJ01
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:20 AM

    More important need for minimum class quotas. Otherwise the extra female voices will just be more centre-right journos and pol cors, or proffessionals and business people who are on twice the average industrial wage. Btw it’d dangerous for the BAI to go down the road of agenda-setting, or maybe twould just provide further impetus for the shift from radio to podcast.

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    Mute Liam Austin
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:15 AM

    U wonder what would happen if all the men rallied together and asked that all nursing and teaching roles are split 50 50. Won’t be long getting women cleaning crap out of sewers and collecting bins at 6 in the morning.

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    Mute minorproblem
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:09 AM

    Oh won’t somebody please think of the children!!

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    Mute Ernest Grinkas
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:25 AM

    We also need many more women working as bin collectors, firefighters and other hard and “dirty’ jobs that have been infested by men.
    Oh wait, 95% of women don’t want jobs like this…

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    Mute Kevin Tyrrell
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:46 AM

    It is almost silly for this to be happening, but we have to I suppose let the women moan on about the oppressive patriarchy and bleat on and on about how they are poor victims, kept down and bullied by the male dominated society and culture in the west…meanwhile us men will go on building the transport infrastructure, houses, power grids, sewerage systems, utilities systems, guard their lives, property, children, guarantee their freedom, enforce the laws, do all the downright dangerous, lonely, backbreaking jobs…so they can feel safe and secure and have time off to be with the kiddies. We will make sure the house has heat, light, electricity, and that everything works ALL of the time. That is the patriarchy, and its a bloody miracle. How many women were out fixing power lines, clearing roads, floods, etc after Storm Ophelia??? Practically none. That in a nutshell is what men do. But we do it. And we dont complain. We get off our arses and make sure it all works for the benefit of women and children. So if you want to denigrate the patriarchy for its failings…then please praise it for all the things it does right…because all of the above is MANS gift to the world. Order. Security. Safety and the provision of these into perpetuity. Womens gift is the next generation, and we make it so that the world isnt constantly chaotic and falling apart. We provide order, we provide shelter, we provide all the things that make society safe and Im sick and tired of hearing how the patriarchy oppresses women and minorities. It is not perfect, its human and it isnt perfect, but by god it is so magnificently, miraculously amazing in what it provides and it is primarily for the benefit of women and children who just take it for granted, so that the next generation dont have to fight tooth and nail to even survive. So feminists, maybe look at the other side of the coin and take note of that…all that you have, EVERYTHING that matters for survival so you dont have to worry about ANYTHING, is off the back of MEN.

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    Mute Soupy Gargler
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:56 AM

    6 one is all women now is it not ?
    I don’t have a problem with that.
    If it’s good its good no matter the gender.

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    Mute Broadoak
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:59 AM

    If they could get rid of the insufferable Ciara Kelly I couldn’t care what gender balance exists on the radio.

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    Mute carodeer
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:25 AM

    Flick through the Irish radio stations any time you like and you hear almost all men. Don’t tell me it is a meritocracy – middle of the road middle class men almost all the time. I am so sick of it. There are already quotas – a silent quota that men get almost all the airtime. Usual gaslighting man whinging comments here.

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    Mute gjpb
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:38 AM

    @carodeer: listen to any entertainment shows and its all women

    Where’s the call for gender balance here?

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    Mute Termaz Fx
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:05 AM

    @carodeer: if your kid needed a heart surgery, would you prefer the best surgeon available for the job (like the system we currently have) or the one that got the position because of the gender quotas (like the system you are proposing)?

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    Mute Observer
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:45 AM

    @Termaz Fx: that’s the whole point if you ignore half the population based on gender ur not likely to get the best are you?

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    Mute Termaz Fx
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:59 AM

    @Observer: so how is putting someone in a position because of the contents of their trousers guaranteeing that he/she is the best person for the job?

    Lets look at this hypothetical example. Lets say we have gender Z and gender B (to weed out any bias I wont use any real genders).
    In a specific field gender Z dominates the market. There is a open position in this company.
    You receive 10 CVs, 8 out of 10 are from gender Z, all of them finished their studies with A+ and have good work experience.
    There is also two CVs from gender B, one’s grades were around C-B mark, and the other one has zero work experience.

    So please explain, how is it fair to dismiss the first 8 candidates just because the content of their trousers does not meet your agenda?
    This is pure sexism at its finest.

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    Mute Ciaran Henry
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:48 AM

    @Observer: Who’s doing the ignoring? Do you get a choice when you’re being operated on and if so – would you sincerely ask for a female solely to ‘help a sister out’?

    It shouldnt ever be male Vs female – it should be public Vs institutions. There is where your err should be focused

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    Mute Ciaran Henry
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:51 AM

    @Termaz Fx: Spot on! However the very small number of outliers here will still argue that B is being discriminated against.

    Men and Women are equal; not the same. Please everyone try to remember that.

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    Mute Frank Dowling
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:05 AM

    More nonsense from the liberal gender equality morons, how about checking the ratio of male/female primary school teachers and adressing that rather than this rubbish?

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:59 AM

    @Frank Dowling: 87% of primary school teachers are female, but 50% of principals are male. Why is that?

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    Mute Frank Dowling
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:16 AM

    @Coles: they dont want the responsibility??

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    Mute Damien King
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    Jan 8th 2018, 12:10 PM

    @Coles: So essentialy this represents a perfect 50:50 gender split between male and female holding the position and this is a good thing right?

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    Mute Observer
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:30 AM

    There’s no denying that discrimination against women exists in all forms.the fact that there is less of it is not down to a sudden realisation by society in general that it is wrong . It is less because women fought for change .it was not given. So it seems a legitimate way of ensuring discrimination doesn’t happen.

    Any one here got any alternative ideas to stop discrimination other than denying it exists
    S

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:44 AM

    @Observer: (Raises ✋) question…if that’s exactly as it is, then why aren’t women fighting for it the same way in middle East/Africa/ parts of Asia?

    Are you implying white women are superior than other women on account of their”fighting” abilities?

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:54 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: What a seriously dumb question.

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    Mute Shannon Mcg
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:02 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: Time to get the popcorn.

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:10 AM

    @Coles: Ah look I’m only jesting but in all Fairness, post really silly comments then don’t be surprised when people have a bit of fun with it.

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    Mute Observer
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:07 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam:

    Who says their not

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:30 AM

    @Observer: Then what’s taking them so long?
    Why the disparity with western women?

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    Mute Observer
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:45 AM

    @Aindreas Macliam: since you asked

    You can only fight what’s In front of you and in those places it’s a lot tougher so will take longer
    Things have changed but not there yet

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    Mute Ciaran Henry
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    Jan 8th 2018, 12:01 PM

    @Observer: Illustrate your point. Can you give a factual/ objective account of a time you were ‘discriminated’ against in the work place because of your gender?

    While I have no doubt that bias does go on and there certainly is a BOYS CLUB in some areas (there are Female versions too) – there is a growing mob-mentality and polluted empathy on here regarding gender topics that is utterly nonsensical.

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 12:12 PM

    @Observer: Not being smart but the reason is the men in those places ain’t giving a inch, that’s why.
    Yis should be a litter kinder to us, y’know the way we pass the ball like no other men in this world.
    Jus saying with kindness.

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    Mute Lydia McLoughlin
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    Jan 8th 2018, 9:34 AM

    OMG – can we just hire the best person for the job!! IF they don’t get the listenership get rid of them (often the perceived best person is not always the best in the eyes of the listeners)! Pay them equally and fairly (stress fairly as some of these gob*****s are way overpaid). This gender quota crap is bulls**T!!

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    Mute Ciaran Henry
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    Jan 8th 2018, 11:54 AM

    Lets put this article to bed now: can there be a public release of job applicants the highlighted areas over the past 10 yrs so we can see how many females and men applied for the same roles. Not looking for their names; simply M or F will suffice.

    Lets see just how biased supposedly these careers are

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 7:50 AM

    If ever there was an argument for gender balance on the radio the misogynistic hatred of TheJournal comments make it clear. You want a meritocracy and think George Hook is as good as it gets?! LOL!

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    Mute Coles
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:10 AM

    @Dave Murray: are you the new guy?

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    Mute gjpb
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:22 AM

    @Coles: don’t worry veronica will balance it out with her misandric views

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    Mute Gerard
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    Jan 8th 2018, 8:45 AM

    Unlike most people here, I do agree that there needs to be a balance (it shouldn’t have to be 50/50 but shouldn’t be overly skewed either). Which isn’t suggesting the best person doesn’t get the job, because if you’re saying ratios of 9:1 like in some fields are representative of that, you’re suggesting men are 9× more capable than women in that field. And I agree that stations should have policies to keep it in check. BUT the idea of proactively “monitoring” the air to check this seems extremely draconian. The way this should be achieved is by only checking recruitment systems: that the stations are making a genuine effort to keep balance even if the end result is still skewed.

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    Mute Damon16
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    Jan 8th 2018, 1:57 PM

    @Gerard: You’re implying that correlation = causation. Just because there is 9x more men as radio presenters doesn’t necessarily mean that men are 9x better. It could mean 9x more men apply for job. Look at the tech sector, people decry the lack of female programmers etc. The reality is male teenagers are much more likely to report on surveys etc an interest in tech than female, way more men apply to study tech related fields in college and way more men apply for jobs in tech that women. Then we hear that tech is systemically discriminatory against women (interestingly a recent study showed that tech employers discriminated in favour of women 2:1 in granting interviews for tech based on identical CVs).

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    Mute Denis Mc Kenna
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    Jan 8th 2018, 4:06 PM

    Of course you know what’s coming down the line next in this mad PC country,ethnic balance in college admissions and employment. Colleges or professions which are under represented by minority groups will have to apply by law, affirmative action .So colleges and employers will be required to have a certain quota of Africans, Asians .travellers .gypsies etc.irrespective of their suitability.Then things should get interesting as we will have reverse discrimination against Irish people.Though I think it’s about time we had some travellers in the legal profession as I believe they are fairly familiar with court procedure.

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    Mute Tom Burke
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    Jan 8th 2018, 2:48 PM

    I bet the women’s council is made up of mostly women. So there!!

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    Mute Anthony Whelan
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    Jan 9th 2018, 12:22 AM

    Next they’ll have a 50/50 gender balance in the comments section

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    Mute Tom
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    Jan 8th 2018, 2:52 PM

    It doesn’t help that many TV & Radio shows fronted by women feature content exclusively aimed at women. Male and mixed panel presented shows target a more diverse audience.

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    Mute Ciaran Henry
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    Jan 8th 2018, 4:48 PM

    Does this particular issue actually keep anyone awake a night? If the answer is anything but NO you’re lying!

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    Mute The Irish Gripe
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    Jan 8th 2018, 4:07 PM

    And ‘ghostbusters’!!

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:00 AM

    I agree with the concept that the best person should get the job but the underlying issue with any quotas is generally based with historic discrimination which has followed through and become the norm. If this is a problem we should be looking to address it

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 10:33 AM

    @Nick Allen: 99% of bin-men are…well men… please address this gender imbalance.

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    Mute Keith O'Reilly
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    Jan 8th 2018, 4:17 PM

    Same thing happens on every article about gender in the media. Men go on and on about merit all the time but whenever there’s any sort of article about any female radio personality these same men immediately start criticizing them probably without ever having listened to them at all!

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    Mute Aindreas Macliam
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    Jan 8th 2018, 6:23 PM

    @Keith O’Reilly: Eh excuse me, but that’s pure virtue signalling.
    If you actually read the comments you’ll see how many women agree about hard work & talent is what percentage should be rewarded for.
    Know why?
    Because they’re not afraid of hard work & are confident in their talents.
    Take the night off mate, they’re grand.

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    Mute Michael Dunne
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    Jan 8th 2018, 1:25 PM

    How a bit of music balance. Radio Nova coast to coast would be a start!

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    Mute Mayo4Sam
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    Jan 11th 2018, 10:12 AM

    I hate to say this as a female but it’s true, there are very few women I enjoy listening to on the radio. To be honest, Marian Finucane is probably the only one.

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    Mute gi0wu9Q6
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    Jan 8th 2018, 12:01 PM

    Test

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