One would think that in today's world men and women are equal, at least in the EU. But, are they or is this just wishful thinking? Claudia Calleja speaks to Simona Lippi, a young Italian who has been working with women in her homeland for several years and is now undertaking voluntary work in Malta.

Equality between men and women is a goal that countries in the European Union have committed themselves to, yet gender gaps persist.

Women have to empower themselves and it is up to them to understand that there exists social discrimination, clearly manifested in the labour market, that has to be fought.

But the way Ms Lippi sees it, no matter how much women fight for equality or demonstrate a will to work hard, they can only succeed if they are supported by their government and if certain stereotypical mentalities are changed. And this can only happen if women carry on fighting for their rights and against all forms of discrimination, constantly and with determination.

On arriving in Malta, one of the things Ms Lippi noticed was that, unlike in Italy, there is no Equal Opportunities Ministry here.

"Although this ministry in Italy does not have funds allocated to it, it carries out crucial work such as the formulation of legislation, it offers support to women's cooperatives, organises courses for women and, most importantly, takes its findings and proposals to other ministries. This way the government has a clearer picture of the issues faced by women.

"In Malta issues surrounding women fall under the Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity which, to me, suggests that problems faced by women are perceived from the family perspective and not from the angle of women as individuals," she added as she stressed that issues faced by women are very specific and need to be tackled as such.

Speaking to Ms Lippi it became clear that the young Tuscan's concern for women and their rights was not just restricted to Italy but extended to the four corners of the world.

After working at Casa Delle Donne, a home for women, for several years, Ms Lippi came to Malta to do eight months of voluntary work through an EU programme.

She chose to work with Inizjamed as she is very interested in fair trade, especially as such trade helps empower women in developing countries who would otherwise be exploited.

Ms Lippi explains that apart from offering moral and legal support to women who fall victim to extreme injustice, such as domestic violence and prostitution, Casa Delle Donne provides a space where women unite and discuss problems in an attempt to overcome the main obstacles faced by working women, mainly glass ceilings and pay gaps - problems also common in Malta.

Quoting recent statistics about women and employment in the 25 EU member states she noted that figures show that women are more likely to be unemployed than men.

Figures released by Eurostat earlier this year show that the percentage of the working age population was lower for women than men in all member states. The female employment rate was the highest in Denmark and Sweden (both at 71 per cent) and the lowest in Italy (45 per cent) and Malta (34 per cent).

Ms Lippi was baffled by Malta's low employment rate for women as this contrasted sharply with the fact that the island has a high female percentage at university.

So, she said, Malta is in a situation where it is generating a rather high number of women graduates but does not have an equal amount entering the full-time job market. Clearly there is something wrong in this picture. But what?

The EU Report On Equality Between Men And Woman 2006 offers a possible answer to her question. The report says that the lack of work-life balance is often cited as a factor explaining the persistence of gender gaps in the labour market. In other words, women appear more affected by the tensions arising when trying to combine participation in the labour market with private responsibilities such as being mothers.

In almost all European countries, women with children register lower employment rates than those without. For the EU25, the employment rate falls from 75 per cent in the case of women without children to 61 per cent for women with children. Employment rates for men with children are higher (91 per cent) than among men without children (86 per cent).

Adding to this, Ms Lippi said that, as confirmed in the report, the pay gap between women and men across the EU25 remains at unacceptably high levels and shows no significant signs of narrowing.

On average, women earn 15 per cent less than men for every hour worked, she said. This results from both non-respect of equal pay legislation and also from a number of structural inequalities such as labour market segregation, differences in work patterns and pay systems and stereotypes.

Ms Lippi said there was a need to fight the mentality that there are certain professions that women just cannot do, and work to overcome the segregation of women in the labour market.

Such segregation was recognised in the EU report which noted that the main growth areas for female employment continues to be sectors where many women already worked such as education and health.

However, women score a low percentage rate in decision-making positions. In 2004 only 32 per cent of the managers in the EU25 were women. The highest rates were in Latvia (44 per cent) and Lithuania (45 per cent) and the lowest Malta (15 per cent) and Cyprus (14 per cent) -the last two countries are the only ones that did not have female members in the European Parliament, Ms Lippi added.

This is where Ms Lippi believes legislation can truly help. For example, the Equal Opportunities Ministry in Italy introduced quotas. "On one hand, I agree with it as it allows a woman to enter the field but, on the other hand, it feels like women are being patronised. The quota system may be the first step that may be accepted proved there is the mentality that one would not stop there," she said.

Although Maltese law does not impose quotas, the Equality Among Men And Women Act (2003) ensures that no person is discriminated against in employment on the basis of gender. Apart from that legislation, in 2004, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality Among Men and Women was set up and, through the years, social partners have undertaken several initiatives in the sphere.

"From what I read I can see things in Malta are changing quickly and in the right direction but, as the figures show, there is still work to be done to ensure that men and women are on an equal level at work."

She said that if governments wanted to strive towards gender equality in the work place - as they have committed themselves to do - they need to provide more incentives for women to re-enter the job market and ensure that supporting structures were truly in place.

This means making sure that legislation ensuring equality was in force and enforced and that accessible and reliable childcare facilities were provided, she said.