Speaking at the first International Congress of Parliamentary Women's Caucuses President Higgins welcomed the emergence of a "confident and renewed feminism."
The President said that "we can now speak of a fourth-wave of feminism, a feminism global in its scale and in its ambition and universal in its solidarity, dedicated to confronting some of the most pervasive structures of oppression which yet still remain.”
The congress brought together female parliamentarians from across the globe, discussing issues facing women and ways for parliamentarians to address them.
In June, Ireland celebrated 100 years of women having the right to vote. President Higgins marked the centenary on a number of occasions, including by hosting a reception for sports women (on International Women’s Day), hosting a Garden Party in honour of the suffrage movement (on 27 June), and unveiling a commemorative plaque in honour of women’s rights activist Hanna Sheehy Skeffington (in June). In February this year, the President also visited the Suffragette Memorial in London's Christchurch Gardens.