In Malta, women are still the lesser – lesser paid, lesser represented, and a lesser part of the economic and political spheres. Joseph Muscat got elected on the promise that gender equality would be a priority, and incentives are being introduced to increase female participation in the labour market. But news that more than 20 per cent of women earn less than €5 an hour is an indication of just how much more has yet to be done.

Malta is one of the worst performers in the world when it comes to female participation in the labour market, according to the 2013 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. On labour force participation, the WEF ranks Malta 114 out of 136 countries, surpassed by only a few such as Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Iran where being female is hardly a blast.

While female employment has increased substantially since the mid-2000s, Malta’s global ranking on labour force participation calls for urgent action. Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said last week that female participation in the labour market increased by 3.8 per cent last quarter, reaching 48.7 per cent. She said, “Malta is working to catch up”.

An increase in female employment is necessary for economic growth. By 2020, Malta has to achieve an employment rate of 62.9 per cent, according to the National Reform Programme under the Europe 2020 strategy. Yet this is a goal that we are already told will not be reached. The National Employment Policy just launched predicts that the percentage of women in the workforce will reach 58 per cent by then.

Josann Cutajar, senior lecturer at the University of Malta’s Department of Gender Studies, said family caring responsibilities placed on women were excluding them from the labour market and depriving them of their right to social benefits. Women are the most likely to face unemployment, and just over six per cent of females employed work full time with reduced hours, while close to 20 per cent of females employed work part time.

She said the social welfare system is victimising women, and should be reviewed to allocate benefits based on individual rights rather than a woman’s place in the family. The Labour Party promised to review the Social Security Act in its electoral manifesto, but there is no hint of this yet.

The measure announced in the employment policy related to State-funded maternity leave is positive for women. As are incentives such as free childcare centres, because they address our Achilles’ heel. Such measures are good for the economy and for the country. But are they enough for women?

Efforts to increase gender equality should not end at whatever benefits the economy; they should also address what really benefits women on a social and political level. It is important to keep our feet firmly on the ground in order to understand that more, much more, needs to be done if we are to seriously address the problem of gender inequality.

In the EU, Malta has the lowest number of women in decision-making positions, the lowest number of women on company boards, and the lowest number of women elected to Parliament.

The symbol of a female President is not enough to address the daily inequality half the population faces. A radical shift in thought is needed to address the structural and cultural obstacles that keep Malta firmly stuck at the lower end of gender equality rankings. We need to examine the culture, belief systems and traditions that feed it and justify it.