The success of women candidates at the recent European Parliament elections, winning four of the six seats, has been hailed by many as another achievement for the advancement of women in Malta.

It was first of all an achievement by every newly-elected MEP individually, be that male or female. But what was particularly significant at his election is that women candidates campaigned on their own steam and did not play the gender card. They were elected because they convinced voters of their attributes, their political platform and beliefs and not because they were women.

Woman participation in decision-making institutions like the European Parliament is both essential and enriching, according to the National Council of Women. Increasing women’s presence in such institutions ensures that women’s perspectives and ideas are brought to the negotiating table before any laws are effectively implemented.

It is therefore easy to deduct from the election result that, given a level playing field, women can perform just as well, and in this case better, than men.

This success does raise questions on the wisdom of gender quotas.

Some would argue that given the successive decades that women were kept at a disadvantage, gender quotas would be a shortcut to achieving the gender balance required in all areas of social, political and economic life. The negative side to this is that positive discrimination does not assure you obtain the best available person for a job.

Joseph Muscat recently pointed at some other achievements in the field of gender equality, mentioning how 60 per cent of judicial appointments over the past year were women and, of course, the appointment of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. Yet, he was quick to add it was unacceptable that female participation in employment in Malta lags behind other EU member states. The Prime Minister believes that women have a crucial role to play in taking the country forward and the way to achieve their full participation is by providing them with more tools to balance their work and family life. Some measures are already being introduced, such as the free child care services and maternity leave paid through employers’ social security contributions.

There are other obstacles that remain to be overcome. Gender studies expert JosAnn Cutajar has pointed out that the social system in place victimises women and that family-caring responsibilities are not just keeping women out of work but also depriving them of their right to social benefits.

Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations chairwoman Lorraine Spiteri acknowledges a cultural change in recent years, away from the traditional roles that have kept women in the domestic sphere. Nevertheless, she believes that society still expects working women to take on the caring role in the family.

Social realities are such that, yes, sometimes women have to prioritise their caring role in the family over their career. This is not unique to women. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has described himself as a single father and says that, away from public life, he, “like any other father”, cooks for his son, does the washing and prepares meals.

Achieving female equality in its widest sense should not mean that women are to become like men in their traditional role but that the two genders should bring their unique roles closer to one another, most especially when they have children still in their early formative years. Gender equality should not be achieved at the cost of undermining the family.

By putting career before their family, women and men may find themselves financially better off, however, society will be all the poorer for it.