On Thursday 27 July, our keynote speeches for the Soroptimist International Convention Dublin began with a talk on female leadership by the first woman President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. 

Mary was a principled and transformative leader who fought for equality and women’s rights throughout her time in office. Following her Presidency, she was appointed as the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, where she held office from 1997 to 2002. She is a founding member of The Elders and was appointed Chair in November 2018 following the death of Kofi Annan. 

Our Advocacy Policy Advisor, Hana Smith, wrote a summary of Mary’s powerful speech. 

Women leaders must step up and lead as never before.

Why?

We are not on course for a world that is safe for our children and grandchildren. The climate crisis is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, where at best, even with all the promises made by Governments, corporations, from investments or philanthropy, we will reach 2.4 degrees Celsius of global warming above pre-industrial levels. This is a stark contrast in comparison to the scientifically recognised 1.5 degrees that we must achieve if we are to maintain a safe, healthy planet upon which we can live. 

As women leaders, we must head in the other direction. 

The introduction of clean energy is a good start, but this alone is not enough. We require a just transition away from fossil fuelsand into the use of clean energies. This means that we must care for workers across the energy industries – for we need them to be our greatest ally. 

During Mary’s time as President of the Republic of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, climate was not on the agenda. It was not until 2003 when she gradually began to realise the injustices of the climate crisis which were already impacting the poorest countries, small island states, and indigenous peoples, for example. This is when Mary began to make climate justice one of her priorities. 

Mary now focuses her work on the adverse health impacts that climate change has on women and girls, as well as intergenerational justice in different parts of the world. 

For example, Ireland will require a 55% reduction of fossil fuels to achieve this goal, but it is only on target to reach a 29% reduction by 2030. It is a similar state of affairs in other countries, where clean energy, for example, is being incentivised but emissions are not being cut as they need to be. 

“Climate change is a man-made problem that requires a feminist solution”

 

The Project Dandelion initiative, which Mary is part of, is a way to connect women working hard towards a positive pathway to a safe, healthy and sustainable climate. Project Dandelion helps to elevate the voices of women at the grassroots level – the “Dandelion” being a resilient, regenerative flower that grows on all continents.

Mary encourages us to use our voice and to realise our own power as change-makers, and as female leaders in our own communities.

Each of us has a moral responsibility to step up and lead for change. We must step outside our comfort zones and empower one another to do so. 

How can we use our voice?

1. Make your advocacy personal – the climate crisis is affecting us all in some way, and it is on track to only get worse;
2. Embrace a positive mindset and use this as your motivation to advocate for meaningful change – “What if the best times are ahead of us?”

 

We have the power and the solutions to change the pathway towards climate justice and a healthy planet. But we must act now.