The Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations has urged the government to implement resolutions that would enable more mothers to have as many children as they wished, without having to surrender employment.

Until now, a vast majority of young mothers had to choose between one and the other because supporting structures were lacking and policies had not been updated to support dual earner families.

The MCWO pointed out that Malta was ranked 89th out of 134 countries on the Equality Index issued by the World Economic Forum last year, a clear indication that this state of affairs had to be remedied and must be devoid of complacency.

Malta’s low ranking was mainly because of the low economic participation of women in the labour market and the dismally low number of women in politics.

MCWO urged political parties to work harder to ensure a fairer representation of society that included women.

The last MEP elections were a clear indication that visible and invisible barriers still kept talented and capable women from being elected in Malta.

Unless these barriers were dismantled through conscious effort, it was likely that Malta would continue to remain at the lower end of the Equality Index.