Men’s attitudes towards their families are changing from just breadwinners to carers, but workplaces are still reinforcing traditional gender roles, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality has warned.
Speaking this morning at the launch of a new EU-funded equality project, equality commissioner Renee Laiviera noted that in 2014, some 86 per cent of people taking up family friendly measures at work were women.
“Many men are shying away out of fear on the effects of their career; the perception of being uncommitted to their work is even worse on men then it is on women,” Ms Laiviera said.
Women, meanwhile, were still being held back by outdated views on gender roles in the labour market, Ms Laiviera added.
Many continued to be asked about their family plans at job interviews – which is against the law – but were scared to speak up for fear of being branded troublemakers.
This morning’s conference marked the start of a new project – Equality beyond Gender Roles – being implemented by the NCPE over the next two years.
The project aims to increase awareness on men’s role in gender equality and breaking down stereotypes associated with traditional gender roles. It will include training for employers on implementing family-friendly measures, as well as social media campaigns targeted at students.
Civil liberties minister Helena Dalli, speaking in a pre-recorded message at the start of the conference, said: “We need to move away from a society where it is generally accepted that family-friendly measures are for women and where men are often looked down upon when they ask, according to their rights, to follow suit.”
She said more needed to be done to ensure that children do not internalise gender norms known to be harmful to their development.
Dr Dalli also called for issues affecting transgender, genderqueer and intersex people not to be side-lined in discussions about gender equality, noting that despite recent advances in legislation, more work was still needed to correct traditional inequalities.