Implementing the Beijing Commitments in Ireland

Abstract

As a postcolonial country with a legacy of nationalist engagement and a historically strong adherence to the Roman Catholic religion, one would expect only modest advances in women’s rights. Yet, such is not the case. Ireland has undergone a remarkable change in the last thirty years with regard to the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the state and with regard to the implementation of women’s rights. Whereas over 90 percent of the Irish population are born as Catholics, recent years have seen a growing secularization of Irish society accompanied by significant improvements in the role and status of women. All of this change has coincided with mammoth infusions of foreign direct investment in the island’s economy. Today, foreign firms employ almost half of the country’s labor force and account for two-thirds of its output (Economist 2000, 21).