Ireland will a referendum to remove a clause in the constitution marking the importance of a woman's "life within the home" and encouraging mothers to shun employment to fulfill domestic duties, the government announced on Thursday.
The move is the latest to update Ireland's socially conservative 1937 constitution to reflect a more secular and socially liberal population.
Ireland was long one of Europe's most socially conservative countries, but in recent decades opinions have changed rapidly as the power of the Roman Catholic Church has waned. A 2015 referendum introduced gay marriage into the constitution, and a vote earlier this year allowed access to abortion.