The National Council of Women is seeing progress in its quest to make it easier for women to work if they want to.
"If you want more women to work - and our economy to improve as a result of their output - we need to get more women working. First, we have to realise why they are not working," council president Doreen Micallef said.
"We cannot expect things to occur overnight because these are drastic changes we are making. The ball is rolling slowly but at least it is rolling in the right direction."
Things have changed on two major fronts. The 2007 Budget adopted a number of measures to incentivise women to work, including the removal of the national insurance contribution threshold, which had been a drawback for part-time workers. It also recognised the input of women working for family businesses. Many of these changes were originally proposed by the NCW.
"Many women go out to work to improve the family's financial situation. If the take-home pay is minimal - or nothing - then they will not go out to work. You have to give them an incentive and assure them that it will be worthwhile. So you have to look at how her income affects the income tax band, how much more she may have to spend on clothes for work and on convenience foods and, of course, any childcare she might need.
"We have been talking about the need for affordable child care for years and the government realised that it has to work on it, as Family Minister Dolores Cristina recently said."
Ms Micallef sees part-time work as a "brilliant" solution for women - and if the hours are flexible, then so much the better, as it allows a woman to work around the hours that she may be needed at home.
"I don't know why this seems to be so difficult for people to accept as a concept. For many years I worked in the health sector and I know a lot of nurses who only did night duties - so that their children would not miss them. We have also had women teaching for at least three generations, tying in well with their children's timetable.
"Part-time jobs are also good because they keep you in the workplace. I believe that if you want to be employable, especially in your previous field, you have to have an active CV, without years-long gaps. And while you are working you get trained and you keep up to date. So it is not only the financial benefit. There is so much more to it than that on a personal basis."
If jobs with the right hours are not available, then entrepreneurship is often the solution, allowing a woman to take on something that she can design to meet her own needs. Ms Micallef said many did not always appreciate just how many women are already entrepreneurs.
"How many women own boutiques, confectioneries and stationers? How many seamstresses work from home? How many women bake cakes from home? Aren't these also entrepreneurs?" she asked.
"When we think of entrepreneurship, it does not have to be anything grand. It is not a matter of opening a big business. I think women know what they want and they tailor what they are doing to accommodate their family around them, whether their husband's hours or children's schooling. If they are happy with what they are earning, why should they increase their input? We need smaller businesses just as much as we need larger ones."
Ms Micallef said it was a shame that so few women considered the cooperative model, whose advantages often make them ideal for women.
"I believe very strongly in cooperatives but people are scared as they think the other people involved will steal their clients. It is this fear that keeps cooperatives from catching on because on paper they are brilliant. For example, if a hotel needs all its curtains to be done, it would be very difficult for a seamstress to take on the contract alone. But if five of them pitched in together, it would be possible."
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely business but there is a system which allows the more experienced ones to help the newer ones: mentoring. Ms Micallef, herself a mentor, said mentees can get feedback on whether they are doing things right.
"It is a way for the mentee to deal with those nagging doubts, getting advice from someone who has already been through her own experiences. I was a mentor in the educational field and the students would bounce off their ideas for their thesis, for example. You make the mentee clarify their own ideas without imposing your own."
The NCW is not only a lobby group, with a voice on the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development. As Ms Micallef said, there are plenty of other organisations that target women.
"When you realise how much work we do, you realise why we are needed. We need to voice what women want and need. The social partners represent employees. For example, the General Workers' Union represents female workers but who is going to stand up for the non-workers?
"Someone needs to look at a woman holistically: As a woman, not as a mother, or an entrepreneur, or as a woman a home, but all of them together. For example, work-life balance would not be tackled by any other organisation."
The NCW uses its premises to hold various courses (open to men and women), such as computer courses for absolute beginners, basic English, basic Maltese and personal development courses.
"We get a lot of women coming to ask us for help. Other entities offer courses but we offer very good prices - we are certainly not doing this for profit - because we want to get more educated women. I always say that if you have an educated woman, you have an educated family
"If we help them to understand what their children are doing, they can help them as well as encourage them. This is very important. The woman needs to keep her dignity and status within the family, too. So these courses and initiatives are also very important from a social point of view."
Ms Micallef also welcomed indications that the new Archbishop has a more liberal attitude towards women who go to work.
"We do feel there has been a shift. You have single parents and others who need to go out to work. You have women who are frustrated at home. We have a society in Malta where everyone wants their children to do well at school. We all want to give them a good education and a decent job - but then once they get married they want them to stay at home. It is ridiculous.
"I am in no way saying that all women should go out to work because everyone knows what their own situation is. There are women who are looking after their elderly parents, women who are looking after disabled children or family members. They are doing work and we must not put housework or family caring down. What we are saying is, let us give women a choice - just as men have. A woman should not be dragged down by cultural ties and society's perceptions. Going to work or staying at home should be a family decision but the decision should not depend on the fact that she is female."
The NCW in 2007
The council's annual seminar, scheduled for next November, will probably be dedicated to women in politics.
The NCW official Grace Attard is the Maltese representative on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels.
The NCW is also affiliated to the International Council of Women and the European Centre of the International Council of Women.
It is discussing how it can help with the euro changeover, which will affect women as the traditional main spenders on household items.
The NCW has over 700 members and 28 affiliated organisations. It only has one paid member of staff.
Its next target is health, specifically breast awareness. It has been studying the Irish model which it feels could easily be adapted to Malta.
http://www.ncwmalta.com
"If you want more women to work - and our economy to improve as a result of their output - we need to get more women working. First, we have to realise why they are not working," council president Doreen Micallef said.
"We cannot expect things to occur overnight because these are drastic changes we are making. The ball is rolling slowly but at least it is rolling in the right direction."
Things have changed on two major fronts. The 2007 Budget adopted a number of measures to incentivise women to work, including the removal of the national insurance contribution threshold, which had been a drawback for part-time workers. It also recognised the input of women working for family businesses. Many of these changes were originally proposed by the NCW.
"Many women go out to work to improve the family's financial situation. If the take-home pay is minimal - or nothing - then they will not go out to work. You have to give them an incentive and assure them that it will be worthwhile. So you have to look at how her income affects the income tax band, how much more she may have to spend on clothes for work and on convenience foods and, of course, any childcare she might need.
"We have been talking about the need for affordable child care for years and the government realised that it has to work on it, as Family Minister Dolores Cristina recently said."
Ms Micallef sees part-time work as a "brilliant" solution for women - and if the hours are flexible, then so much the better, as it allows a woman to work around the hours that she may be needed at home.
"I don't know why this seems to be so difficult for people to accept as a concept. For many years I worked in the health sector and I know a lot of nurses who only did night duties - so that their children would not miss them. We have also had women teaching for at least three generations, tying in well with their children's timetable.
"Part-time jobs are also good because they keep you in the workplace. I believe that if you want to be employable, especially in your previous field, you have to have an active CV, without years-long gaps. And while you are working you get trained and you keep up to date. So it is not only the financial benefit. There is so much more to it than that on a personal basis."
If jobs with the right hours are not available, then entrepreneurship is often the solution, allowing a woman to take on something that she can design to meet her own needs. Ms Micallef said many did not always appreciate just how many women are already entrepreneurs.
"How many women own boutiques, confectioneries and stationers? How many seamstresses work from home? How many women bake cakes from home? Aren't these also entrepreneurs?" she asked.
"When we think of entrepreneurship, it does not have to be anything grand. It is not a matter of opening a big business. I think women know what they want and they tailor what they are doing to accommodate their family around them, whether their husband's hours or children's schooling. If they are happy with what they are earning, why should they increase their input? We need smaller businesses just as much as we need larger ones."
Ms Micallef said it was a shame that so few women considered the cooperative model, whose advantages often make them ideal for women.
"I believe very strongly in cooperatives but people are scared as they think the other people involved will steal their clients. It is this fear that keeps cooperatives from catching on because on paper they are brilliant. For example, if a hotel needs all its curtains to be done, it would be very difficult for a seamstress to take on the contract alone. But if five of them pitched in together, it would be possible."
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely business but there is a system which allows the more experienced ones to help the newer ones: mentoring. Ms Micallef, herself a mentor, said mentees can get feedback on whether they are doing things right.
"It is a way for the mentee to deal with those nagging doubts, getting advice from someone who has already been through her own experiences. I was a mentor in the educational field and the students would bounce off their ideas for their thesis, for example. You make the mentee clarify their own ideas without imposing your own."
The NCW is not only a lobby group, with a voice on the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development. As Ms Micallef said, there are plenty of other organisations that target women.
"When you realise how much work we do, you realise why we are needed. We need to voice what women want and need. The social partners represent employees. For example, the General Workers' Union represents female workers but who is going to stand up for the non-workers?
"Someone needs to look at a woman holistically: As a woman, not as a mother, or an entrepreneur, or as a woman a home, but all of them together. For example, work-life balance would not be tackled by any other organisation."
The NCW uses its premises to hold various courses (open to men and women), such as computer courses for absolute beginners, basic English, basic Maltese and personal development courses.
"We get a lot of women coming to ask us for help. Other entities offer courses but we offer very good prices - we are certainly not doing this for profit - because we want to get more educated women. I always say that if you have an educated woman, you have an educated family
"If we help them to understand what their children are doing, they can help them as well as encourage them. This is very important. The woman needs to keep her dignity and status within the family, too. So these courses and initiatives are also very important from a social point of view."
Ms Micallef also welcomed indications that the new Archbishop has a more liberal attitude towards women who go to work.
"We do feel there has been a shift. You have single parents and others who need to go out to work. You have women who are frustrated at home. We have a society in Malta where everyone wants their children to do well at school. We all want to give them a good education and a decent job - but then once they get married they want them to stay at home. It is ridiculous.
"I am in no way saying that all women should go out to work because everyone knows what their own situation is. There are women who are looking after their elderly parents, women who are looking after disabled children or family members. They are doing work and we must not put housework or family caring down. What we are saying is, let us give women a choice - just as men have. A woman should not be dragged down by cultural ties and society's perceptions. Going to work or staying at home should be a family decision but the decision should not depend on the fact that she is female."
The NCW in 2007
The council's annual seminar, scheduled for next November, will probably be dedicated to women in politics.
The NCW official Grace Attard is the Maltese representative on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels.
The NCW is also affiliated to the International Council of Women and the European Centre of the International Council of Women.
It is discussing how it can help with the euro changeover, which will affect women as the traditional main spenders on household items.
The NCW has over 700 members and 28 affiliated organisations. It only has one paid member of staff.
Its next target is health, specifically breast awareness. It has been studying the Irish model which it feels could easily be adapted to Malta.
http://www.ncwmalta.com