The wording of the Irish Constitution is "sexist and male-orientated", and promotes the stereotypical role of women as homemakers and mothers, a UN committee in New York was told yesterday.
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) told the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women that the Constitution should be changed to include more inclusive language and prohibit discrimination.
The Government signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1985. The State faces a review before the UN committee of its implementation of the convention tomorrow.
The commission also highlighted the inequality experienced by groups of women marginalised by being older, living in poverty and being disabled.
Dr Katherine Zappone, commissioner and convenor of the commission's gender and equality committee, said: "We see an explicit link between the unacceptable view of women's roles that is endorsed in the Constitution and Ireland's lack of progress with regard to eliminating discrimination between women and men." The commission recommends that:
• Specific measures should be put in place to protect vulnerable groups of migrant workers, such as domestic workers in private households, who are predominantly women;
• Measures should be put in place to reduce and prevent the risk of poverty for specific groups of women, in particular older women, female lone parents, Traveller women, women with disabilities and carers;
• Increased funding should be provided to ensure adequate and affordable childcare is available to facilitate long-term participation of women in employment and training;
• Special childcare schemes for groups of women with a low level of participation in the labour force and who are at a high risk of poverty;
• Temporary special measures should be put in place to increase the participation of women with disabilities in education and employment;
• Legislation should be put in place to suppress the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.