Economic independence enables both women and men to exercise control over their lives and plan their families and careers. To be effective, such economic independence needs to be based on an equal footing between women and men by ensuring that the gender gap in employment participation is addressed through policy intervention.
In fact, increasing female employment is crucial to reaching Europe’s 2020 goals, which set a target of increasing the employment rate of the working age population to at least 75 per cent by 2020.
Despite registering an increase, the employment rate for men among EU Member States was 70.1 per cent in 2013, and for women it stood at 59.6 per cent.
A gender employment gap is recorded in all Member States, with its magnitude varying from 1.5 per cent in Finland to 25.6 per cent in Malta according to a 2016 Eurofound report entitled The Gender Employment Gap: Challenges and Solutions.
This gender gap carries a heavy cost.
In fact, in 2013, the cost of the gender employment gap in Malta stood at 8.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, a total cost of over €592 million.
Furthermore, Malta pays the highest bill from among the EU28, resulting from having the highest gender gap in employment rates in the EU.
In 2013, the cost of the gender employment gap in Malta stood at 8.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, a total of over €592 million
In terms of the EU28, the report shows that the total cost of the employment gender gap for the EU amounts to more than €370 billion or 2.8 per cent of EU GDP.
Considering only those women who are willing to work, the total cost for the EU28 amounts to €169 billion.
It is important to note that 27 per cent of inactive women report that they do not search for employment because of responsibilities with the care of children or dependent adults, while almost 18 per cent of women in the EU declare other personal or family responsibilities.
According to the Eurofound report, participation in the labour market also has social effects.
Employment improves a person’s perceptions of their overall quality of life, with women evaluating their lives more positively than those outside the labour market while enjoying higher levels of economic security, social inclusion and empowerment.
The report proposes various policies that include labour market measures to encourage greater female labour supply and employer demand; childcare measures offering support with costs and provision; leave for maternity and parenthood-related reasons and adult care; and flexible working time and work-family reconciliation to improve work-life balance.
The Maltese government has been fostering an increase in the participation of women in the labour market in the context of EU policies. In fact, various recent initiatives are having a positive effect.
Among these are the free childcare services for parents in work or education, the breakfast club and Klabb 3-16, as well as the setting up of a maternity leave fund to eliminate discrimination against women at recruitment stage.
Moreover, male public officers are now eligible to five days paid paternity leave with the birth of each child.
Developments in strengthening flexibility at the workplace can also be seen in the private sector. In fact, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality awards the Equality Mark certification to encourage organisations to offer more family-friendly measures to both men and women.
Presently there are 78 companies and organisations, employing a total of 20,800 employees, that have been awarded the Equality Mark.
Moreover, the NCPE is currently working on an EU co-funded project that aims to raise awareness of the importance of men’s role in gender equality, as well as the benefits of the uptake by men of various family-friendly measures.
The NCPE is also seeking to break down stereotypes tied to traditional gender roles among employers, employees and society at large, and to highlight the benefits of sharing family and domestic responsibilities.
As highlighted in the Eurofound report, increasing the labour-force participation and raising the employment rate of women is of paramount importance for the economy, for addressing the cost of the employment gap and for achieving a more equal society.
Strengthening policies and campaigns that promote and incentivise flexible working conditions, shared family responsibilities and a better work-life balance is essential for the narrowing of the cost of the gender employment gap and increasing the economic and social wealth of Maltese society.
Renee Laiviera is commissioner, National Commission for the Promotion of Equality.