Many women believe they no longer need to celebrate International Women's Day. They ask: why do we need such a day when we have it so good and have reached our goals?
Yet do women have real choices in 2009? Can they really choose to have a wholesome family life, yet still hold down a fulfilling job which they spent years working hard to achieve? Most women in Europe, such as the Nordic countries, France and Brussels would say 'yes'. But it is, unfortunately, still not the case in Malta.
Messages of work/family balance constantly bombard women, and the challenges are enormous. The Church rightly calls on couples not to leave their children with "leftover" love. And the government has declared it would like to increase the number of women in the working world because Malta has the lowest rate (38.6 per cent) in the European labour market. Yet there are fewer childcare services available here for children under three than in any EU country.
Authorities may point out that the majority of parents, 68 per cent, still believe grandparents provide the most suitable alternative form of childcare. But what if they have passed away or have become too tired to handle a bubbly two-year-old?
Once women graduate, most set out equipped with a briefcase and all the right intentions to strike that balance. But when the baby comes along, reality kicks in.
Employers talk the flexi-hour talk. But when a mother has to leave early to pick up her child from school or attend a concert, they are not so keen to walk the walk and many start to frown. To make matters worse, those who do manage to hold down a job are criticised by full-time mothers who tut-tut every time they fail to bake homemade muffins for a children's fair.
There's no denying that a child needs a nurturing family - the presence of parents is a crucial element in their upbringing. However, a woman's choice to stay at home or go to work should be free of any artificial limitations.
If a woman chooses to stay at home, she should be able to do so without harbouring any bitterness over giving up a chance at a career. And if she chooses to work, she should be able to do so without feeling she is letting anyone down.
Though the situation has improved over the years, pressure on women remains intense. A 2005 survey showed the average Maltese woman spent 22.6 hours a week on domestic and family work as opposed to man's mere 7.7 hours. While women are closing the gap on the opposite sex, particularly in employment and education, they still do more housework - a new report shows that an EU woman with a paid job dedicates an average of 25.5 hours a week to domestic chores, while men spend 7.8 hours.
Discrepancies also remain when it comes to pay. The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality's recent study concluded that the gender pay gap in Malta is 23.35 per cent, though Eurostat figures released last Friday painted a more optimistic picture, saying Maltese women are now earning 5.2 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Whichever is correct, we should be working to ensure there is no gap, not just in terms of pay, but also in terms of opportunity. This will only be possible once proper structures are constructed and certain prejudices overcome. Otherwise, certain women may choose to do the one thing they do have control over - have no children at all.