Woman at work, woman at home

Malta has one of the EU's lowest rates of female participation in the work force. Right, let's put that into the language of normal people. Fewer women in Malta are in paid employment than in any other EU country. This fact has important implications for Malta's national economy and the economies of Maltese families.

First of all it means that as a nation we're not maximising the talents and skills of tens of thousands of our people; female people. That's not only a national waste; it also means that too many of our female citizens are not fulfilling their own potential.

Women like Mabel Strickland in their own distinctive ways made lasting impressions on Maltese society. Such women influenced my thinking about the world and I felt that I was walking in the shoes of these great women when I chaired the National Commission for the Advancement of Women.

I am standing as a candidate that hopes to win an election to represent all the people of Malta, regardless of gender, political affiliations or anything else. However, I'd be foolish not to admit to being excited at the prospect of influencing EU policy on family-friendly employment laws or policies that help people get a worthwhile balance between career and family, that encourage women entrepreneurs and help make Malta a more productive location for inward investors.

Last year I wrote a number of reports on gender issues for the EU. The work was commissioned because the EU takes the role of women in society very seriously. If Europe is to meet the challenges of globalisation it must become a consistently competitive economy. That means women have to be given the educational, training and employment opportunities that will not only bring them into the workplace in greater numbers but also ensure they are not disadvantaged in career progression.

How do we do this in societies that value the traditional role of women as managers of households and nurturers of children? The answer is that we - the peoples of Europe, the EU, national governments, employers, educational institutes, trades unions - actively support policies that deliver more opportunities for well-paid work to women and policies that allow family life to function properly.

One of the consequences of globalisation and the rise in the power of Far Eastern economies is that assembly and manufacturing jobs have gravitated away from Europe and the US. We have and will continue to witness a profound structural change in the global economy. For Europe there is only one way to go. More and more of our wealth will have to be built on the back of knowledge-based industries and on high quality leisure, tourism and retail activities. These are all ideal activities for women. If we in Malta and across the EU fail to create the conditions that will unlock the talents and skills of all the Union's women we will fall behind the rest of the advanced world. The consequence of that will be poorer families, less money for education and health and poorer EU nations.

Fighting to improve the conditions and opportunities for women is not therefore some kind of feminist pipe dream. It is a vital component in helping Malta maximise the benefits of EU membership and in helping the EU compete successfully on the global stage.

Dr Drake is a Nationalist Party candidate for the European parliament elections.