Decision-making

The setting up of a parliamentary secretariat on gender equality is producing results. It is becoming more evident that gender is a priority on our government's agenda. And this we owe, above all, to the energy and commitment of Parliamentary Secretary Dolores Cristina. In her contribution to the ministerial meeting recently hosted by the Italian Presidency of the EU in Sicily, Ms Cristina spoke about Government's initiatives to ensure gender equality in a wide range of areas in particular in the labour market.

Also present for the conference which focused on women in decision-making processes was Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Policy, who challenged all political parties and governments to set themselves clear targets on a number of gender issues.

Perhaps the current biggest challenge is that at least a third of the members of the next European Parliament (to be elected in June 2004) will be women. NCW is eager to know what targets the Maltese government and local political parties are setting and what measures they are taking to ensure that Maltese women will make it to the European Parliament.