US Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley has advised Maltese working mothers not to answer when asked how they manage to balance their work and family responsibilities.
“Over the years, I’ve read a number of interviews with successful Maltese women working in the banking, business, law and government sectors. What I’ve noticed in the question-and-answer section is that they always say that family comes first or that, despite the long hours at work, they would go home and cook for the children.
“No man is ever asked the question of how he balances his family and his professional life.”
Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley was speaking at a debate held yesterday at the University of Malta by the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee entitled ‘Reaching out to girls today, empowering women tomorrow’.
She questioned whether there were any additional pressures being exerted by Maltese society on women who had a career.
The saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ held true for many Maltese women, who benefit from the help and support of their children’s grandparents, she added.
Yet, women should not feel compelled to accentuate the fact that their families came first. With men, it was an assumed fact that the children were being cared for.
Such questions served to erode women’s confidence that they could be fully focused on what they were doing while at work.
“I therefore challenge you: don’t answer that question if people ask you. Do not volunteer that information,” Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley said.
The success of women was critical to the success of families and of the nation itself, she added, questioning whether Maltese women were demanding from the government the right to equal access to the workplace and personally doing enough to support other women.
“We have had the US Ambassador to Libya [Deborah K. Jones] in Malta for the past six months. Seeing two ambassadors in one embassy, people wondered whether we would have conflicts.
“We both have teenage daughters and it’s been an absolute delight to share best practices and support.
“Networking is key for all of us. Remember that your success is connected,” Ms Abercrombie-Winstanley said.
No man is ever asked the question of how he balances his family and his professional life
The director at the Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants, Ahmed Bugri, said that, often enough, migration cases were not only tied to war but to a severe lack of opportunities in the country of origin.
He said he came across a Filipino woman who was a fully qualified nurse, specialised in the operating theatre, but who worked as a cleaner in Malta.
The woman had not been paid for the countless hours of overtime she had worked and was eventually replaced.
“She has no voice. She was discriminated against by her employer, who used her.”
Integra Foundation director Maria Pisani spoke about how her first undergraduate dissertation was inspired by a conversation between two women she had overheard on the bus years ago.
“One woman told the other that her daughter was going to university. The other, in turn, asked her: ‘What will she do with her degree once she gets married?’
“That inspired my dissertation. Do we have the psychological freedom to pursue our goals?” Ms Pisani asked.