Women beyond the Dáil: establishing local caucus for women councillors

The purpose of this document is to act as a practical and brief guide to those considering establishing a Women’s Caucus or Network within their Local Authority area. This is a joint project between the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and the National Collective of Community Based Networks (NCCWN).

The establishment of such a caucus or network is one of the ways that could enable women to strengthen their impact and bring about equality between women and men in the daily operations and work of Local Authorities. Their success stems from their capacity to build solidarity amongst women elected representatives, to rally support around common objectives and rising above political divisions to adopt a collaborative way of working.

There is no single caucus model. The structure and purpose of the caucus varies in terms of structure, composition, areas of interest, budget, the context in which they evolve, and the name chosen.

We are grateful for the feedback from stakeholders including the Association of Irish Local Government, Longford Women’s Link and four NCCWN projects (Donegal, Dun Laoghaire, Limerick and Monaghan). Feedback from an exploratory discussion held in December with women councillors from Limerick, Louth, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, Meath and Fingal and women’s community organisations are also included.

This guide is kindly supported by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.