Women can be each other’s worst detractors, conference hears

Women can be each other’s worst detractors, conference hears: "Some of the “snidest comments” levelled at high profile women usually come from other women, former Tánaiste Mary Harney has told a conference in Kerry.
Speaking at the third annual ‘Women in Media’ conference in Ballybunion on Saturday, Ms Harney said far too often women are commented on for “style over subtance”.
Highlighting the importance of “women power” Ms Harney said, we have never needed more women in power, but warned how women are often the biggest detractors to other women.
“Women are criticised because of their appearance, their dress, their weight. In my own experience the snidest comments usually came from other women in the media and that has been my experience.”
During her contribution to the discussion ‘Working in the media and politics. Are men and women treated differently?’ Ms Harney said often women in the media love to pit women against other women.
“You remember Orla Guerin and Bernie Malone? We now have what’s called the ‘Battle of Blackrock’ – Mary Hannifin and Kate Feeney. Mary Lou and Joan Burton are being pitted in articles I keep reading and I think some women journalists like to pit the woman against the other woman, or the story about Liz O’Donnell wears the same dress on the same day as Luicinda Creighton....
“I wonder would anybody ever have noticed if Dick Spring wore the same suit as Garett Fitzgerald?”
Ms Harney said in order to address gender imbalance we need to change attitudes but she insisted it’s also about “women power”.
“Very often women won’t vote for another woman, some of the bitchiest comments made about a woman are often made by another woman.
“Your rival is very often not the other man in the constituency it’s the other woman,” Ms Harney revealed.
Speaking about gender quotas in politics Ms Harney said she has also believed that candidates should be selected on merit.
“However, I have come to the conclusion that the government’s recent initiative is an honest attempt to climb up that big hill. But what I am observing is that there are a lot of women being added to tickets because you have to have a 30 per cent or else your funding will be halved.
“But are they [female candidates] being put in places where they can win? And will we have more after the next election? I certainly hope so.”"



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