Gender discrimination

The EU Commission has acted against Malta because it has not fully implemented EU rules prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation on grounds of sex as per Directive 2002/75/EC.

The principle of equal treatment of men and women has been embodied in EC Treaties since the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957 and has evolved through legislation and copious case law by the European Court of Justice. The role of the Commission is to monitor the implementation of this legislation and to propose new legislation.

The directive in question is crucial in tackling gender discrimination that is an important goal of the European Union. This directive was agreed unanimously by the member states and adopted in 2002.

However, EU directives can only have a true effect on the lives of EU citizens if they are fully and correctly implemented in national laws.

If Malta fails to reply or if the response is unsatisfactory the Commission can decide to proceed in the European Court of Justice.

It is hoped that Malta will rectify this issue as speedily as possible in order for its citizens to benefit fully from the rights protected in the directive.

Obviously, there needs to be an effort in Malta to transpose that which is contained in this and other legislation on the matter into everyday life, otherwise the legislation is just worthless words on a piece of paper.

Malta still seems to lag somewhat behind in the area of gender equality.

This was made apparent recently when we placed last in the table drawn up regarding the gap in employment rates between men and women in the EU.

This is a gap we must strive to better, sooner rather than later.

Obviously, statistics regarding the number of women who work cannot be the only guideline when measuring equality between men and women. However, it is a fact of life that financial independence is a source of strength and power, something that many women still lack in their lives.

Traditionally, women have always been financially dependant on men in this country.

Not too long ago, women were first supported by their fathers and eventually by their husbands.

As recently as the early 1990s (that is just over 10 years ago) married women in Malta could have their marital home sold from under their nose by their husbands and there was very little they could do about it.

To this day there are women in abusive and dangerous relationships who cannot escape because they are financially dependent on their abuser.

It is a sad fact that the woman who is financially independent is the woman in a far stronger position.

In an ideal world caring for your family would give you as much protection and status as a well-paid job.

The sad truth is that, at the moment, when a woman is at her most vulnerable, having an adequately-paid job is often essential for women and the children involved.

In these circumstances it is important that the question of employment or lack of it be a matter of choice and not a question of difficulty in finding an adequate place in the workforce.

There are many women who cannot be part of the workforce because the jobs they find are not adequately paid and just not financially worth the effort it takes to go to work.

This is for a variety of reasons. Women usually have more of a problem reconciling their work with their private life. This often leads to jobs that pay less or part-time work with the vulnerability it entails.

Women sometimes find they can only limitedly commit to their job because of the difficulties they face in integrating their work with their family life. Therefore, they often do not reach decision-making and well-remunerated positions.

This could be one of the reasons why there is a significant pay gap between men and women.

There is also the fact that traditional women's jobs are usually looked down upon and paid less than traditional male jobs. Women's economic independence is of benefit not only to them and their families but also to the economy and to society at large. It is in society's interest to have the best people employed in the jobs they were trained to do rather than have a substantial amount of them drop out or perform at an inferior level because the support system necessary for them to be able to work is not in place.

Unless these issues are adequately addressed, we can talk about equality until we are blue in the face but the truth of the matter will be that we will continue to have an employment, pay and status gap between men and women.

kmicallefstafrace@gmail.com