Is diversity in politics dead?
Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Is diversity in politics dead?

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 19, 202649 min
  • Politics

Democracy rests on the promise that political institutions should reflect the people they serve. But in an era of growing social diversity, persistent inequalities and political polarisation, that promise is being contested. On today’s podcast, Hugh heads to the Royal Irish Academy to speak to Pauline Cullen, Professor of Sociology at Maynooth University and Tània Verge Mestre, former Equalities Minister in the Catalan government in Spain. Verge Mestre highlights the gender quota’s introduced in Spain in 2007 requiring political parties to have no less than 40% of either gender represented in its candi...

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It's Monday, October 19th and you're very welcome to the Inside Politics podcast from The Irish Times. I'm Hugh Linehan. Few issues have become so politically charged in recent years as that of diversity and representation

0:13

in the political system. In the United States we've seen the Trump administration move aggressively to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs across society and institutions. Across Europe, meanwhile, many governments and institutions are still continuing to

0:28

implement diversity policies aiming to improve representation through gender quotas and other measures. So do political systems really reflect the societies that they serve? What difference does greater diversity in political institutions actually make and what can countries learn from each other's experiences and failures? Last week I took part in a discussion at the Royal Irish

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