Western societies are changing at a fast rate. The 21st century family is very different from that of four or five decades ago. A political effort to recognise gender equality in legislation has helped pull apart gender-role divisions. Put simply, gender equality means equal power and opportunities for men and women.
But despite improving gender parity in education in most European countries, including Malta, women are still less likely than men to be associated with leadership positions in politics and business. While women are today more economically independent and socially autonomous than ever before they often fail to break the glass ceiling that holds them back from bridging the gender gap.
The most recent edition of the Gender Equality Index ranks Malta in the 16th place out of 28 member states in the analysis of women’s achievement in the workplace, money, health, knowledge, time, power and health spheres. One needs to look beyond facts and figures to establish what other factors contribute to the large gap in gender equality in Malta. Statistics offer an interesting insight into behavioural models but they fail to answer the question as to why the skills and talents of women are not fully optimised in our society.
Cultural and social issues are surely behind the perpetuation of stereotypes that reinforce the bias against women in society as much as in most other European societies.
Social research shows that stereotypes about men and women have a huge impact on our beliefs about how they should (or should not) behave. As a result, gender stereotypes reinforce social status and gender hierarchies.
In the traditional business and political spheres, men are often perceived to be more ‘competent’ than women, even if in real life there are various excellent examples of great female political and business leaders. Angela Merkel is arguably the best political leader in Europe at the moment. But, like most women in the most senior positions in the business and political hierarchy, she must have worked twice as hard as male leaders to reach the top.
Unconscious bias is a particularly important factor as it arises from the implicit assumptions and unspoken attitudes, beliefs and expectations that we all have about others. A lifetime of long-held beliefs of what women should be, how they should behave and their assumed role in society drives and reinforces unacknowledged gender bias.
Cultural change to overcome this bias that is holding back women from reaching their full potential in society must start in the first years of schooling. The long-term well-being of our society depends on our ability to achieve gender equality in all fields of human activity.
Encouraging women to participate more actively in the labour market is vital to ensure economic growth and social prosperity. The ageing population iscreating serious challenges that need to be addressed by empowering women beyond the social and political frameworks that already exist to support women in the workforce.
Gender issues should not focus on women alone but on the relationship between men and women in society. For instance, stay-at-home dads and full-time career women who are also mothers are realities of modern society that many find hard to acknowledge, without being judgemental, as the new normality.
It is ultimately the duty of politicaland business policymakers to embed high standards of gender balance intheir strategies.