A cartoon in The Sunday Times of Malta, dated October 27, 1947, showing a queue of women lining up to vote, mostly in modern dress, but with one of them still wearing the għonella.

A cartoon in The Sunday Times of Malta, dated October 27, 1947, shows a queue of women lining up to vote, mostly in modern dress but with one of them still wearing the għonella. This was a historic moment for Maltese women, the day when they came out of the political shadows. It was the first time women were given the right to vote in Maltese national elections, as well as to stand as parliamentary candidates.

In the run-up to that election in 1947, still in the wake of World War II, it was widely expected that women might hold back and not exercise their right to participate. Yet the day after the polling booths were opened, the front page of Times of Malta reported that “women who are voting for the first time in Malta’s history, rose to the occasion”, by turning out in almost equal numbers to men.

Mabel Strickland and Agatha Barbara were among the first prominent Maltese women who were involved in politics. Barbara, who was later the first woman to be appointed President of Malta, urged women to vote for the first time with a patriotic message, telling them that just as they had supported their country in times of war, they should also do so in times of peace.

Yet over the past 70 years the participation of women in our Parliament has remained dismally low, even though Malta now has more female than male representatives in the European Parliament. In the Maltese Parliament, only 10 per cent of Labour MPs and 17 per cent of Nationalist MPs are women, which adds up to around 13 per cent in Parliament as a whole.

Possible reasons why women stay behind in politics might include that they tend to be less confident on the public stage, more risk-averse, kept back by family responsibilities and more likely to face negative gender bias, including from other women. Women still have not broken through the glass ceiling in politics.

Ultimately, the reshuffle has changed the balance of power within the Opposition party

Before the election, Joseph Muscat had promised the “most feminist” government in history and declared that “a new government would have no problem slamming the glass ceiling women are faced with until it’s smashed”. I am not sure that ‘feminist’ was a happy choice of word, with its strong connotations of quite specific historic movements, but the underlying message is clear enough.

Yet, in reality there have only been two women in the Cabinet of ministers at any one time in this legislature, out of a total of 23 members. We began with two ministers, Helena Dalli and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, and now we only have Dalli as a minister and Justyne Caruana as a parliamentary secretary.

Oddly enough, Marlene Farrugia was presented with the double-edged choice of either becoming a minister herself or ceding the post to her partner Godfrey Farrugia, and we all know how that ill-fated story ended.

Meanwhile, over in the other camp, following the reshuffle last week, exactly half the members of the shadow Cabinet are now women. This is a first for Malta.

Simon Busuttil’s choice of his front-line team is naturally not a coincidence. Politics is all about public perception.

What is the significance of having a new shadow Cabinet with an equal number of men and women in it?

Firstly it shows, if proof were needed, that in spite of low female participation in politics, those women who do get elected are competent, hard-working and reliable, and that their contribution is being recognised and appreciated by giving them a seat at the main table.

I think it also indicates that Busuttil wants to present a substantial ‘culture change’ in the Nationalist Party, projecting a new and more contemporary image. He may want to place more emphasis on equal opportunity and inclusivity, and send the message that his party’s structure reflects the changing roles of women in society.

This ties in with the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, with the European Parliament recently engrossed in contentious legislation on gender quotas for boardrooms across the EU.

Some other adjustments in the shadow Cabinet also suggest a culture change. Spokespersons have been created for healthy lifestyles and the fight against poverty. There are also new spokesperson roles focusing on citizens’ rights, justice and democracy, hunting and trapping, and immigration – specific areas which have proved problematic for this government.

Ultimately, the reshuffle has changed the balance of power within the Opposition party.

More women are now holding the reins in Pietà than ever before. This denotes a deeper change, and not just a case of musical chairs.

It is a tacit recognition of the fact that women are underrepresented in Maltese politics.

Whether the presence of more women in the driving seats will translate into real changes on the ground for the electorate remains to be seen.

petracdingli@gmail.com