Speakers at a GWU seminar on women's participation in the labour force reluctantly agreed this morning that the introduction of quotas to get women into decision-making positions might be a necessity, even though it was not ideal.
The seminar was addressed by, among others, Lydia Abela, secretary of the executive of the Labour Party, Marlene Mizzi, who heads the PL's business unit, PN executive president Paula Mifsud Bonnici, Clare Thake Vassallo from the Council of Women and Anna Borg from the Centre for Labour Studies at the University.
Most of the speakers said that ideally, women should make it to decision-making posts on the basis of their own abilities, but until that time, it might be necessary to introduce quotas in order to bring about change.
Anna Borg argued that any group needed 30 percent representation to make itself heard in decision-making bodies, but in parliament, for example, the presence of women was only 8 per cent.
Marlene Mizzi said she did not agree with quotas in principle, but this did not mean that quotas might not be necessary. She warned that that there was a risk that women appointed to decision-making posts on the basis of a quota might be expected to deliver more, in order to prove themselves, and an individual's failure might be viewed as being a reflection on women in general.
Clare Thake Vassallo argued against the mentality that only women were expected to sacrifice their career for their children.
Some of the speakers were cautious about a proposal to extend maternity leave, warning that it might backfire since employers would be reluctant to engage women because of financial burdens on their companies.
Joe Farrugia, director-general of the Malta Employers' Association - and the only man present for most of the seminar - said that small companies, in particular, might not be able to absorb the absence of a female employee for a long time, as well as the financial burden which went with maternity leave. He said the relative burden of employing a man or a woman should be equal.
Anna Borg said that while maternity leave was a positive concept, this should be viewed as being a social burden that should not be borne by private employers on their own.
The government, she said, should shoulder part of the burden as a means to ensure that women found their proper place in the workplace and stayed in employment, even when they had children.
She pointed out that the state was investing heavily in education. There were now more female than male graduands, yet many of the women were eventually dropping out of the labour sector because of issues such as this. Society needed to invest to ensure that women had the proper environment which encouraged them to contribute to the labour force.
The seminar was held today to mark Women's Day.