More than 22 per cent of female workers earn less than €5 an hour, according to the director of the Cottonera Resource Centre Josann Cutajar.
Dr Cutajar blamed this state of affairs on a social welfare system that was not enabling them to access benefits.
The country’s social welfare system looked at women as embedded in the family and ended up victimising them if they were not. One’s position in the labour market and entitlement to social benefits were dependent on gender, added Dr Cutajar, who is also a senior lecturer at the university’s Department of Gender Studies.
She questioned whether it was time for Malta to allocate social benefits on the basis of individual rights rather than one’s status within a family.
Dr Cutajar was speaking at a packed conference yesterday marking the 50th anniversary of the National Council of Women.
Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli delivered the opening speech, saying tackling inequality was essential as Malta was still losing out on its investment in women’s education.
“We cannot afford to waste these resources just because we are not providing the supplementary help necessary for women to carry on with their careers after this country invests so much in them,” Dr Dalli said. Such measures were not only good for women but also good for the economy, she added.
She announced that women in the workforce increased by 3.8 per cent in the third quarter of last year, reaching 47 per cent. “Malta is working to catch up,” she said to an international audience as the conference coincided with a meeting of the International Council of Women this week.
Malta ‘working to catch up’
New research presented by Godfrey Baldacchino, Professor of Sociology, revealed an increase in the proportion of women opting for further education beyond school leaving age.
The number of students over 16 years of age choosing to continue their studies has been increasing consistently over recent years for both males and females, but the proportion of women is now greater than men, reversing past trends.
Prof Baldacchino also shared data from the latest annual survey by the Education Ministry offering insights into the job prospects awaiting youths who opt to terminate their education soon after reaching 16 years of age – the minimum requirement by law. Salespersons, waitresses, machine operators and cleaners account for 80 per cent of job choices for young females choosing not to pursue further studies.
The prospects for young men of the same age are similar to options for women, but “even at this level” men have more job choices than women. This shows that many occupations remain decidedly gendered, Prof Baldacchino said.
Peter Agius, head of the European Parliament Office in Malta, drew attention to treaties and directives that guarantee equality within Europe, but said “these remain toothless unless people demand their rights be applied”.
Mr Agius referred to the increase last year in the percentage of Maltese female MEPs, saying it went from zero to 50 per cent almost overnight. He said he expected the same ratio to be maintained in the upcoming elections.
A democracy without women is half a democracy
Although the percentage of women in the Maltese Parliament was low, Dr Agius said, it increased by five per cent since the previous election. But his remark that “this is a huge improvement” was not easily accepted.
Ajla van Heel, OSCE gender officer, said that at this rate Malta would achieve parity in 2048. An expert in promoting women’s participation in politics, Ms Heel outlined various measures that could be introduced to increase women’s representation in Parliament.
Nathalie Tagwerker, deputy head of the OSCE’s Democratization Department, also stressed the need for Malta to implement the commitments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), considered the backbone of anti-discrimination policies.
“Many challenges remain for Malta. Women’s representation in Parliament is the lowest in Member States and OSCE participating countries,” Dr Tagwerker said. “A democracy without women is half a democracy.”
Nationalist Party MP Claudette Buttigieg acknowledged the low participation of women in politics. The most important tools for women’s development, Ms Buttigieg said, were networking and mentoring, and social media was enabling women to do this. Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella closed the conference pointing to the failure of the Millenium Development Goals that were meant to be achieved by next year.
“Progress is uneven and inequality still exists. Women are still under-represented in decision-making and political life,” Dr Vella said, adding that government was sensitive to this issue.