Most women feel discriminated
Seven out of 10 working women claim that their employer does not have an equal opportunity policy at work to avoid discrimination and harassment, a study has shown.
One in every 10 women experienced some form of sexual harassment at work but half did not report the abuse or avoided the perpetrator. Only one in three of those harassed said they confronted their abuser.
These figures emerged in a study entitled Unlocking the Female Potential that was launched this morning.
The report, sponsored by the EU, gathers results of four projects that aim to provide a picture of the situation of women in Malta. The report will be handed over to policy makers.
Results showed that 63 per cent of working women felt economically independent due to their job. 45 per cent said they worked because they felt the financial need, 13 per cent work for their personal well being and 10 per cent said they were the sole breadwinners.
53 per cent of women who did not work said this was because they had to look after children. 44 per cent felt that having children hinder women from working while 12 per cent attributed this to the lack of support structures.
A third of vulnerable workers (both men and women), who are defined as not being given basic working conditions, are not formally registered with their employer.
Almost 70 per cent of 600 vulnerable workers interviewed – that worked in tourism, cleaning and language schools – were paid on an hourly rate, 15 per cent were paid below minimum wage, 19 per cent were not paid government bonuses, 40 per cent were not allowed break time.
55 per cent said they had no trade union representation at work. The majority of workers, 94 per cent, felt government should invest in more awareness of workers' rights,
The report, commissioned by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, is a gold mine of information. It shows that out of every 10 women working only three, or 31 per cent, received a job promotion while 69 per cent never did.
More than half the women were illegally asked about their plans to have children during job interviews. 78 per cent of Gozitan women work in Gozo.
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Maria Camilleri
Jan 17th, 12:38
My male boss recently asked me if "its the wrong time of the month" because I disagreed with his (wrong) interpretation of the law. That's what we face every day, having to prove that no we are not instable or moody, that we are worth the salary as our male counterparts and we are not "playing jobs" before springing out a dozen kids.
Neil Sant
Jan 17th, 02:22
Here we go again fashioning a glass ceiling out of thin air. The bottom line is work hard and believe in yourself rather than blame others for your lot in life. I know several highly successful women and they didn't get to where they are now by grumbling and moaning.
Amante Reale
Jan 17th, 08:56
@Neil Sant
I doubt you know that many highly successful women from the way you speak. But if you do, please ask them if they felt that their road to success was made harder by the simple fact that they were women. They will undoubtedly say yes.
You call this grumbling and moaning; these are STATISTICS. I don't know if you've ever heard of them, but they're actually a real thing.
God, I love how strong a hold the patriarchy has in this country.
Joe Grech
Jan 16th, 22:02
''The report will be handed over to policy makers.'' - Are there really any policy makers in Malta. I wonder....really.
Just bear in mind MEPA, the situation at the Law Courts, Vat scam, stoppage of EU educational funding for many long months, Air Malta, ongoing stealing of Malta's potable water, polluting fish farms, near chaos at the Education division, transport problems for many long months, backbencher squabbling with resultant handing over of citizen money in an effort to shut them up. The list is by no means an exhaustive one....but I myself am getting exhausted.
Wish all the ladies the best of luck in their endeavours!
Claire Busuttil
Jan 16th, 19:54
il haddiem ingenerali sar ihossu idiskriminat, mhux in nisa biss
Joe Grech
Jan 16th, 22:41
@ Claire Busuttil - very true what you wrote! Nowadays there are employees who do ten or more hours' work every day Monday to Friday for their company. No Buts allowed. Take it or leave it.
And as for weekly salaries most employees certainly do not earn as much as the Ministers received recently in their hush hush salary rise.
That's the sort of discrimination this lot will hopefully be remembered for...on election day!
francis Buhagiar
Jan 16th, 19:29
Is it possible that every time we talk about occupational harassment it all turns out to be sexual harassment? Had any body ever tried to make a real study about occupational harassment to see how many male employees are harassed each day. Some are threatened and bullied by their boss that if they join a trade union they will be fired. Other are forced to do work which is not their duty, at times they know nothing about the work they are asked to do. This is everyday bread for the bullies and not only in the private sector but also in government departments.
Frans Buahgiar
Amante Reale
Jan 17th, 08:59
@Frans Buhagiar
Oh man, why is it, that every time an article comes up regarding women the men have to speak up and start grumbling "won't you think of the men?!" Of course there are issues with men! That does not mean you cannot run a survey and write an article about the problems women face.
Should a lab that's trying to find a cure for heart problems be shamed and guilted because they're not trying to find a cure for cancer as well. No.
r buttigieg
Jan 17th, 20:34
@amante...granted but strangely enough you never hear of men's problems since media favous women issues.
Anthony Galea
Jan 16th, 19:18
Nonsense!
Emma Xerri
Jan 16th, 23:29
How do you know, are you a woman? I find the males on this island to be tres macho, especially the slobs. I have yet to meet a Maltese male who was a feminist - they love their little patriarchal enclave in the middle of the Mediterranean, and no doubt cannot wait until it will be joined with the rest of backwaters of North Africa - the EU have told you this much.
Karl Consiglio
Jan 16th, 16:35
U ejja they're always grumbling.
Victor Rodenas
Jan 16th, 16:14
If women want to show their full potentially there is only one way to do it.In local Elections and in elections for European M.E .P`s they have to vote equally for Women and MenThis way they will be sure to have more women representing them,it`s no use grumbling afterwards.The main enemy of women are women themselves.
Joseph Aquilina
Jan 16th, 14:16
"It shows that out of every 10 women working only three, or 31 per cent, received a job promotion while 69 per cent never did."
I am all for gender equality but this statistic alone is nothing unless compared with the percent of male who never got promoted as well. Also what is wrong with "78 per cent of Gozitan women work in Gozo"? How does that imply gender inequality?
M Micallef
Jan 16th, 13:30
8 out of 10 interviewers ask about maternity plans, even though most of them know that this is illegal.
Of course women are discriminated .. but I don't see anything being done about it.
Apart from that, while 'Nista - sharing work life responsibilities' is promoted, for some women it is still a matter of MA NISTAX. We are still lacking in family friendly measures in the workplace and things will not improve by just putting a few adverts on the media.
Mark Cassar
Jan 16th, 19:43
Couldn't agree more with you!!
The Nista Campaign is still ongoing ...we'll see the outcome of the campaign in a couple of years..unless there are proper structures to support working parents - there's no way female participation in the labour market increases. The number of school holidays (parents days/ mid terms/ staff dev days) DURING THE SCHOLASTIC YEAR, added to that the half days (during exam time/ June) - makes it impossible to work (what happens when kids get sick? more leave taken by the working parents...). The only support (if one considers this ) - is the Klabb 3-16 - which only operates from 4 state schools, and only runs parallel to state school holidays. So children in different schools (other state school/ church and private schools) - cannot make use of such a service if this is not available on specific days... and unless NANNIET mentality (relying on grannies as nannies) is obliterated, the story goes on....
Amante Reale
Jan 16th, 13:24
The first two paragraphs of this article paint the perfect picture of how bleak the situation is for women in the workplace in this country. It's sad to see that half of the sexually-harassed women feel that they shouldn't report their abuse. I'm sure this is because of the stigma that it carries with it; everyone will know the woman as "the one who couldn't take a joke" because that's how many people look at it and this is where the education regarding sexual-harassment should be aimed at. There are three things that need to happen if this situation is ever to be improved: this country needs to have more support for sexually-harassed women/men; workplaces should employ stricter disciplinary actions; and people need to be educated on exactly what is sexual-harassment and why it hurts the victim.
"It shows that out of every 10 women working only three, or 31 per cent, received a job promotion while 69 per cent never did."
Why am I not surprised that women get more recognition on the workplace for their looks than for their job performance? What a disgrace.
Andreas Moser
Jan 16th, 13:23
And women still earn less. Although this is mainly their own fault: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/gender-pay-gap/
Amante Reale
Jan 16th, 14:02
You say "their own fault" but in reality gender roles are so deep in society (ESPECIALLY in Malta) that women have that same discrimination internalized. This creates a situation where women themselves feel like they've achieved something even with lesser pay. The fault is not their's... it's men's and society's constant hammering of "women should stay at home; men should go to work" that created the gender pay gap. Your article puts the blame in the wrong hands.
Stefan Zammit
Jan 16th, 17:25
What "people feel" has nothing to do with reality. Every point in this article can be easily nullified - simply put none of the presented statistics are compared to those of men.