Women in Malta and sustainable development

Marisa Micallef Leyson, chairman of the Housing Authority, recently met Grace Attard, National Council of Women president, to discuss some issuesthat are being discussed at the Johannesburg World Summit.

The Johannesburg World Summit will touch on many issues that deal with sustainable development. Sustainable development encompasses environmental, social and economic issues; all three must be integrated so that "development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Grace Attard explained that sustainable development must be understood in the context of women's full and equal participation in a democratic society. "Sustainable Development is endangered if not engendered".

During the meeting, the two women discussed areas ranging from the labour market, education, the environment and the role women play in these and other areas.

G.A. We used to talk about the environment. Now everybody is realising it isn't just environment, it is sustainable development; the integration of the social, economic and environmental aspects; to be able to put forward projects that will not harm future generations.

M.M.L. So you think that Johannesburg can affect the lives of ordinary women?

Yes. In fact the Women's Action Agenda 21 was a document specifically designed to promote women's active and equal participation in preparation for the Rio Conference on Population and Development (1992). Chapter 24 of the Rio Document Agenda 21 deals specifically with women's participation.

Since the Rio Summit, women's NGOs, grassroots, women's groups, women in academia, in business and so on have been working towards gender mainstreaming of all sustainable development policies.

In Johannesburg the World Summit is focusing on the role of women. So it is offering the opportunity to develop strategies to overcome obstacles to ensure gender integration in decision- and policy-making, in all aspects - social, economic and environmental.

In Malta we have made strides, but how far have we progressed?

The number of women in the labour market has increased slightly. Obviously the obstacles are still there. In other areas, such as women in top positions in the private sector, the public sector, on government boards, in science and technology and in politics, progress is slow.

People's aspirations have risen and women are going out to work to sustain those aspirations. Women in Malta have a huge role sustaining the family. Having children should not be perceived as an impediment to the workforce. I myself have a support network but still find it difficult... guilt feelings when you are a mother... you have that feeling that you should be at home... although this certainly does not happen only in Malta!

What we need is the setting up of infrastructures that support both husband and wife who choose to be gainfully employed; for example incentives to reduce the burden of child care costs, increasing income tax bands applicable to married couples who are both gainfully employed, among others, so that women have a realistic choice of entering the labour market.

Besides, many men in Malta are working phenomenally long hours, putting more strain on women, and children are missing out on a relationship with their father.

At the Housing Authority, we have two out of three women in management but I had to take positive action for that to happen.

That's a perfect example of what we are talking about! We need to ensure that there are more women in decision-making positions because they can understand the difficulties that women have to face - mothers with young children, single parents, separated couples.

Do our laws provide for the elimination of exploitation of women in such situations?

Education

Girls still do not opt for IT at higher levels; it is a pity because if women do so, in the long term, it will give them the opportunity to work from home. More girls should go into the technical areas also.

Initiatives are being taken to encourage female participation in apprenticeship schemes, as we have recently seen at the Malta Shipyards. However we need to rope in parents and employers too!

An important point here is that the world of study is very different from the world of work. Women sometimes do very well in study but not so well in the workplace... there are many other dynamics at work.

The National Council of Women is very much aware of these issues... We are working on a number of initiatives at different levels that focus on empowering women, to build skills necessary for a job or career, personal development, group dynamics, managerial skills and courses that cater for women in management.

I'm lucky - I come from the housing profession and there are many women managers in housing in the UK. Women are over represented in the social roles... when women move into a profession like medicine, then it starts to become undervalued because women have moved in.

There are now provisions in the current Industrial Relations Act which, among other issues, ensure the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and that's a new way of looking at work... jobs are no longer evaluated according to the person who does the job but by establishing a system of classifying the work that is being done.

According to set criteria that includes among others, a level of responsibility, intellectual effort, physical effort, qualifications, experience and so on.

As for younger women and men - they think differently - there have been huge cultural changes in the past 20 years.

Younger couples still have their grandparents to support them and act as childminders. But again grandparents want to continue with their own work or interests and therefore the need for affordable, professionally run childcare is already there.

But going back to sustainable development, what we are talking about is all part of it. We are talking about the economic aspect.

There are other issues in other areas. Sustainable development is also strongly linked to the environment - to the role women play in designing homes, schools, leisure facilities; food preparation in the home; reducing the possibility of transmitting disease through food preparation; encouraging healthy eating habits; energy control; in the reduction of pollution and waste; and as consumers. This is where the integration of the social, economic and environmental aspects comes in.

Should there be education of women or all young people at school? All young people should be concerned. Doesn't that reconfirm that we fundamentally still have to be housewives at the end of the day? Women go out to work and juggle.

Women are housewives, but they do many other things too! However we must never underestimate their role within the home. On the contrary, we should perceive the work of women in the home with the dignity it deserves and enhance it through education.

Maltese families are really keen to see their children do better in education. Are we teaching values? Are we talking about waste? No, because our values have become so materialistic, education is all about access to earn more money to have more goods, to be able to purchase more.

Attitudes are changing. The national curriculum is moving in that direction.

Children are overburdened. Our curriculum is not sustainable! If I had to do four literature books for O level, why are children doing 10? What is going on? And are these children better versed in literature? They're not. There are too many books!

It is a fact that we give priority to memory work, learning for exams, rather than developing the 'whole' person.

Emotional intelligence is left out. If we look at those who did well at school and then what they do later on in life... you'd be surprised. They're not always the ones who were good at school who do better later on in life. You don't use what you memorised at school. You need to be able to communicate, to read people's body language, understand situations.

With the introduction of personal and social development in schools the concept of emotional intelligence is gradually coming in. But we need more than that. We need to introduce programmes of mental well-being in schools; to be proactive; and to provide our children with the necessary skills that changes in society are continually demanding.

I really believe that children are overburdened by books We think three-year-olds are clever when they can identify letters... and women in Malta are somehow led to believe that this is loving your kids. You get 20 competitive mothers in a school and everyone else worries - "my child isn't reading yet and he's five". When I was at school and university I had the space to be involved in lots of issues, but our kids don't. Unless the content of the MATSEC exams is changed and half the marks are given to coursework instead of exams...

There is much to be done in this area. There are so many other skills that we are failing to tap, that we are sacrificing, if we go on giving value to memory skills only!

And we are making these children and their parents feel like failures. And yet these children in later life - if we don't ruin their confidence along the way - they can do very well.

I think Maltese kids are very confident, very outgoing. The raw material is there, but then I get bothered that we don't tap into the qualities of the young ones. By the time they've grown up, what have we done to them?

The environment

We need a holistic approach to the problem of waste. Attitudes to housing also need to change

There is now a plan. The Housing Authority has plans to become more energy efficient. For one thing, we decided last year to build smaller units. We are also building a block of units in Pembroke, which will have solar panels installed as well as other passive measures that reduce fuel consumption. Our most exciting project is one we are planning at the moment. This is a block of apartments that will be totally energy saving, using photo-voltaics and the latest technology available for energy-efficient housing.

We could go on forever... but one thing is sure - every individual Maltese citizen must feel responsible to contribute to sustainable development in his/her everyday life.

The government delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Laurence Gonzi, will be presenting the Malta National Report at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be evaluated together with the reports of all participating countries and to develop clear strategies for the future.

I am convinced that the Johannesburg Summit will definitely bring about an unprecedented change for the future!