'Incensed' Meath schoolgirl writes to Govt over gender pay gap
An "incensed" 11-year old schoolgirl has admonished the Government for the gender pay gap in Ireland and has told them to "make the next generation better".
Anna O'Neill from Dunboyne, Co. Meath, said she was "outraged" when she heard on the news lately that Iceland was the first country to illegalise unequal pay for men and women.
She said: "I saw on the news about Iceland and I had just assumed that Ireland would already have stopped the system of paying women and men different rates for the same job.
"When I looked it up on the computer and saw that there was a pay gap, it really annoyed me and I decided to do something.
"I contacted some relatives and friends of my parents to conduct a survey on what they thought."
She explained she had to borrow her mum's phone to do the impromptu survey.
She said: "Everyone said the same thing in different ways but all thought it was unfair.
"I wrote a letter and we sent it to some of the TDs and Senators in the Dáil.
In the letter, she told TDs: "Did you know that some men are being paid more than women for doing the same job and our government thinks that is ok?
"Iceland recently became the first country to make this illegal and I believe that it is wrong that we still haven't. It is illegal to pay someone less because of their race, but it is okay to pay someone less because of their sex
"This is not fair because women find it harder to make it to the top of their career.
"Only 14% of CEOs in Ireland are female and only one in five local councillors are female.
"As a girl being educated the same as boys, I am personally offended by this issue, so please help make the next generation better.
Anna, who would like to follow a career in politics, has already received replies from Senator Catherine Ardagh, and Fianna Fáil TD Fiona O'Loughlin.
"I never knew that men and women could be paid differently for doing the exact same job.
"I was really offended by it and I just hope that it's all changed by the time I'm working," she added
Mum Andrea said: "I saw her going to the computer after watching the TV and then asking for my phone. I thought 'what's this all about?'
"She has always had an interest in current affairs. I'm very proud of Anna and even to get a response means that she is being listened to.
"That's very important and will encourage her again to put pen to paper the next time she is upset with an issue."
