WOMEN must be involved in peace negotiations in the North, the American ambassador told Galway businesswomen at the weekend.
Ms Jean Kennedy Smith told the Business and Professional Women's Club a.g.m. at which she was guest speaker that women, particularly mothers, had been most deeply affected by violence in the North.
"They are the ones who have lost husbands, fathers, brothers and sons," she said.
She said Ms Hillary Clinton wife of President Clinton, had pointed out that it was ordinary women who were working towards peace in the North and not women as high level diplomats or professional negotiators.
"When we look at the political leadership in Northern Ireland we see no women at the table. This is not peculiar to Northern Ireland. There are very rarely women involved in peace negotiations around the world. This must change," she said.
Already seminars were being organised, some with the help of the American embassy, on how women could make themselves heard in the political arena.
Ms Kennedy Smith added that women had to be encouraged to enter jobs and positions in traditionally male dominated areas. "In the US for every dollar a man earns, a woman only earns 71 cents," she added.