Culture & Gender

Hi, it’s me again! After thinking about what I wrote last time, I am even more excited to write this blog this time about the culture and gender here in Ireland. In this blog, I will be telling you all about the differences in the workforce based on gender, the common greetings between genders, rights of women in Ireland, and also health in Ireland between the gender roles.

                The workforce in Ireland, has progressed over the last 30-40 years. In the past, most higher, wage-labor jobs were held by males however women have increasingly entered the workforce. Like I stated in my last blog, my mom is a nurse at the local clinic which is a very good paying job for women in Ireland. Women have been able to get more jobs in tourism, sales, medicine, and financial services in Ireland. (Clancy,1993-1998) Even though women have been able to get jobs over the past few years it is still not as equal as men. Women are frequently found in lower paid, part time, or “lower skilled” occupations than men. (CountryInsights, 2009) I know that this is what I have to look forward to after college and some people may think it is unfair and unjust but I just tell myself it could always be worse. Also I believe our country has come a long way with gender roles in the workforce. This has been proven because in the last 15 years, there have been 2 women as President in Ireland. (CountryInsights, 2009) I think this is very exciting not only for women but for our whole country.

                Common greetings in Ireland differ than other places in the world. For example, here in Ireland it is very common for us to say Mr. or Ms. when we meet someone for the first time. This is out of respect for the person. Also we do not give a kiss on the cheek like other countries may do. The people of Ireland including myself, we like our personal space, especially when meeting someone for the first time. Also the Irish culture is a macho culture so touching between men is very rare and in a public workplace, men never touch women. This is out of respect for the person. (CountryInsights, 2009) Some cultures may find this different and strange, but this is how we do it here and I think it is perfectly fine. When I greet my friends, I will greet them with a hug but that is because I know them. It would be very weird for me to greet someone I do not know with a hug or a kiss but that is just how the Irish culture is.

                As I stated before, women rights in the workforce and life in Ireland are still not completely equal to men, but they have came a long way. Due to the society being heavily influenced by Catholicism, the traditional role of mother and wife has been put in the Constitution. Women in Ireland were obliges to resign from the civil service upon marriage but since then, better education, declining fertility rates and the opportunity to earn higher wages have increased. However, married women in Ireland have a lower participation rate in society compared to other countries. There is a lack of childcare, and tax policies for these women but these are getting worked on and hopefully some progress will show soon. (CountryInsights, 2009) Along with women’s rights and the gender roles of the women and men of Ireland, health also plays a part in this. In some countries, the rate of good and bad health between men and women is different but in Ireland it is equal. There are no gender differences in good or bad health in Ireland. (Bramba, 39) I think this is interesting because even though women are not exactly equal in Ireland, we do have one thing equal and that is our health.

                Now that I have talked more about women, men in Ireland obviously get the higher paying jobs and have more say in society. Also farming is a very big industry in Ireland, so the seasonal tasks are divided among the males according to age and gender. Most of the big public activities in farming, the adult males take care of but the chores and jobs within the house are taken care by the females. It is very common in Ireland that neighbors with help each other with their labor or equipment during the busy agricultural seasons. This is mostly men doing this work and these ties are formed by religion and marriage. Another interesting thing about Ireland is that marriages are seldom arranged and monogamous marriages are the norm (Clancy, 1993-1998). Well that is all for now! I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to my next post!

Bramba, C. Kunst, A. Pope, D. Roskam, A. Scott-Samuel, A. Stanistreet, D. Swami, V. (2009) Gender, health inequalities and welfare state regimes: a cross-national study of 13 European countries. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. JSTOR. Vols 33-64. Pgs. 38-40

Clancy,Patrick. Curtis, Chris. Taylor, Lawrence. Wilson, Thomas. (1993-1998). Countries & Their Cultures. Ireland. http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Ireland.html

CountryInsights.(October 15, 2009). Centre for Intercultural Learning. Cultural Information-Ireland.  http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=ie