Parties urged to field more female candidates

The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations has urged political parties to walk the extra mile to scout for talented women to contest local and national elections.

As the world marks International Women's Day today, the confederation has drawn up a "shopping list" of essential changes and improvements which it deems necessary to improve the situation of women here.

Women remained under-represented in many aspects of social life and their presence was still extremely low in the political sphere, where most of the decisions affecting them and their families were taken, the confederation said.

It felt political parties had to make sure enough space was created for women candidates to ensure their visibility and active participation at all levels.

It believed political parties only stood to gain when taking these initiatives, not only because they needed women's input and experiences, but also because society was becoming more sensitised to the issue of equality.

Women were still not as active as men in the labour market; in fact, just under 70 per cent of all women aged between 15 and 64 were not actively employed or seeking work.

"While acknowledging that some women, especially older women, may not want to seek active employment, it is evident that the government is not providing effective support structures for many women, especially mothers with young children, to remain, or return, to the labour market," the confederation said.

"There are problems relating to the school hours and the holidays, particularly the extremely long summer holiday period. As a result, women are often constrained to work part-time. This in itself not only implies that they are often employed for less than 20 hours, without adequate pro rata benefits, but such a sector often precludes women from any career advancement and self-fulfilment."

Many other women who worked on a casual basis found that the high national insurance contributions they are asked to pay posed a financial burden that discouraged them from joining the formal labour market.

Such women were often compelled to work in the black economy with the risks this brought later on in life, especially since they were entitled to no benefits whatsoever.

The confederation was urging the government to take these situations into consideration.

"This is becoming more urgent in the light of the hundreds of separation cases that are landing in our courts, which often mean that women who previously gave up their jobs and careers to care for their children end up in a state of poverty," it pointed out.

In the light of the imminent changes to the pension system, the confederation said it was calling for adequate attention as to how this reform will affect women.

"It is hoped that the government will give reasonable and adequate time credits to mothers and fathers who take time off from work to care for their young children, and to workers who take time off to care for their elderly parents and relatives."

While it acknowledged that a cost-benefit analysis was required to determine this, it was hoped that care work with the young, the disabled and the elderly was acknowledged, valued and formally recognised.

The confederation has already submitted its position on the changes to the pension scheme and expected the government to take its recommendations on board, especially during the implementation and monitoring states of the new scheme.

It believed that a cultural change was necessary to change the traditional stereotypes that still predominated here.

This required an effort on many fronts, but the educational system could do much more to ensure that students were taught the fundamental principles of gender equality.

Gender equality should be an integral component of the island's educational system at all levels, in line with the United Nations' recommendations to all governments to include gender equality education alongside numeracy and literacy in schools.

In the light of all this, the confederation was urging the government to push equality issues higher on the national agenda to ensure that the necessary action was taken in a holistic manner to resolve the many pending problems and injustices that women still faced today.