Survey on obstacles facing women at the work place

The National Statistics Office (NSO) carried out a survey on obstacles facing women at the work place on behalf of NCW. The questionnaire covered a number of topics, such as prospects and obstacles in being promoted, as well as opinions on the balance of men and women in local politics.

The survey showed that married men were on the whole more interested in being promoted than married women but, in the case of single persons, the percentages were reversed. Interest in being promoted at work increases with the level of education attained and decreases with years of experience in the current line of work and with age.

Chances for promotion, especially in higher posts, were perceived to decrease with age. When it comes to the reason for wanting a promotion, a high percentage stated that their main interest was an increase in salary, although the percentage of men who selected this reason was greater. Women tend to seek more job satisfaction than men.

When asked if they thought that they would be getting a promotion in their current job at some point in the future, slightly more than half the men and women thought that this was likely, with the percentage for single persons being higher than that for married persons.

Women felt that long hours of work are an obstacle to them and that they felt that they lacked support from their partner and/or family. The majority of respondents felt that they have a considerable or high level of decision-making power in their job.

A majority of women, both single and married, said they thought that there should be a balance in parliament between men and women. Some said that men and women complement each other and that women have leadership skills.

This latter statement was more common with the female respondents. Those who disagreed said they believed that men were more suitable in the field of politics. However, more respondents felt that there should be a balance between the number of men and women in local councils than in parliament.

A large majority said that, when voting in local council elections, they do not consider gender a determining factor since they felt that women were just as capable as men. Those who disagreed said that this is because men are more suitable for the post while the majority of those who would prefer a woman said that women are just as capable as men.