The Grant Thornton international business report 2015, ‘Women in Business: the path to leadership’, reminds us that “when women thrive, businesses thrive. If an economy is only using half of its most talented people then it immediately cuts its growth potential.”
Declining fertility rates, the need to procreate, and also that we must give a return for the investment made towards our education and training are often topics of discussion. Surely, in order not to waste talent and continue reproducing, there must be the necessary structures to support working families.
A debate currently going on in the UK is about the cost of childcare being so high that it does not pay families to work. More women are being faced with no option but to stay at home caring for their small children.
“The reality is that for too many families it simply does not pay to work,” concluded the UK Family and Childcare Trust in their annual Childcare Costs Survey 2015. According to this survey, work is no longer viable when childcare costs for families are taken into consideration.
In Malta, the government acknowledged the fact that the cost of childcare is a major stumbling block for parents wanting to balance family responsibilities with those of work. That is why we did not stop at limited support for parents. We adopted a comprehensive approach to policy formulation recognising that parents, particularly women, experience different realities and thus have different needs.
Since last year, the government has been providing free childcare for all children of parents in work and in education. This scheme is addressed to increase the low participation of women in the labour market and also to enhance the education and care experience of children. Nearly 4,000 children are attending these nurseries.
Parents who prefer to send their children to a childcare centre of their choice continue to benefit from a tax deduction that, from January 2014 has been increased from €1,300 to €2,000.
Moreover, the Breakfast Club was launched in April 2014 to provide care for children before the schools’ official opening hours. This is available in all State schools at kindergarten and primary levels.
The government acknowledged that the cost of childcare is a major stumbling block for parents wanting to balance family responsibilities with those of work
Parents have the possibility to take their children to school before going to work. Pupils can also have breakfast at school. Between April and June of last year, 700 children were using this service on a daily basis.
In order to cover the needs of parents during working hours, Klabb 3-16 was extended to offer after-school care service within schools, delivering age-appropriate activities, including assistance with homework by tutors who are qualified teachers.
A significant increase in the employment rate of women has been registered. There was a rise from 44 per cent at end of September 2012 to 51.1 per cent at the end of September 2014.
Direct financial benefits are also being enjoyed by self-employed women whose maternity benefit rate has increased to the minimum wage for their 14 weeks of maternity leave as from this year. This means that they are now receiving €166.26, up from €86.77 on a weekly basis.
Acknowledging the important role of parents who opt for adoption, this government will also be extending the leave benefit given in cases of adoption of children in line with maternity leave.
Furthermore, the rate of the maternity leave benefit, which covers from the 15th to the 18th week of maternity leave, has been increased and paid at a rate equivalent to the national minimum wage.
In recognition of workers’ contribution to the economy, people – born between 1950 and 1956, and who are currently in employment, but by the time they reach their retirement age would not have made enough contributions to reach the national minimum pension – will now be given the opportunity to pay back a maximum of five years of contributions. This, so that they will qualify for a minimum pension once they retire.
While this is a mainstream measure, the beneficiaries are mainly women who had to take breaks to bring up their children when family support structures were limited.
All the afore-mentioned measures are an investment to strengthen the support system in our society, but more importantly to reinforce our work to bring about gender equality and equality of opportunities for all.
There is a lot more that needs to be done. The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality organised a conference last Friday to discuss the gender pay gap. This is about women earning less over their lifetimes due to gender inequalities, resulting in lower pensions and potentially the risk of poverty in old age. On average, women in EU states earn 16 per cent less than men.
In order to strengthen our efforts in the field of violence against women, we ratified the Istanbul Convention. We are preparing a Cohabitation Bill; our work continues.
The theme for International Women’s Day this year is: ‘Make it happen’. We are making it happen, and we will continue to do so to ensure that our women thrive and so does our economy and social well-being.
Helena Dalli is Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties.