Areport published recently by the European Commission about child care facilities highlights the issue of lack of participation of women in the labour market.
The issue comes as no big surprise as the government is still working hard to establish the appropriate environment to encourage mothers to seek employment.
Even though it recently became customary to incorporate as many family-friendly measures as possible when negotiating collective agreements - this is also evident in the most recent public service collective agreement - it seems that these measures are not enough to generate the desired stimulus.
In the report, Malta ranks 25th out of the 27 EU member states when it comes to providing child care facilities. Such conclusions are made on calculations based on specific information, but certain facilities, such as kindergartens, are not included in the estimates. Nonetheless, it was recently noted by the Prime Minister that we also need to increase such facilities and provide them on a round-the-clock basis to assist shift workers.
The average rate of Maltese women contributing in the labour market is low compared with all the other EU member states. Only 37 per cent of women hold a full- or part-time job; the rest are inactive or taking care of their families, while the average participation of women in EU states stands at 58.3 per cent.
It is worth noting, however, that between the ages of 15 and 25, the average rate of women in the labour market shoots up to 48.4 per cent while the EU average is 40 per cent. This is a clear indication that the issue revolves around who is providing the care for our children and families.
In Malta, women are still at the forefront of taking care of the family as it is clearly evident as the male labour force is dominant compared with that of women. This is also confirmed by recent statistics which indicate an employment rate of 74.2 per cent among men, two per cent higher than the EU member states average. The traditional family model is still strong and parents still opt for support from grandparents.
More measures must be sought to encourage women to retain their employment and a balance between work and family commitments should be encouraged and the appropriate structure made easily available.
Measures such as teleworking, which have been introduced, should be encouraged when the nature of work permits it. The government is leading by example by introducing family-friendly measures in collective agreements, but such measures should not be hindered by bureaucratic systems which sometimes stop such initiatives being implemented.
The private sector should be encouraged to follow suit and supported to allow employees to enjoy flexible working conditions to retain women in the workforce.
The discussions recently undertaken within the EU to extend maternity leave is welcome.
Malta needs to look around and explore the successful measures taken by other countries, the Scandinavian region in particular, to encourage women to enter the labour market.
This issue cannot be solved by simply introducing more childcare facilities, since this alone will not yield the desired results. Also, it must be noted that providing a facility outside the workplace is not very welcome. Providing a facility at the workplace might not always be viable either as the running of such centres comes at a cost.
Other factors such as job sharing and flexitime are options that need to be made easily available. Malta cannot afford to lose the potential of 63 per cent of women who are still out of the labour market. Our economy can get a boost if measures are introduced and implemented so that the target to reach the EU average rate of female employment is achieved.
The government has in recent years been addressing this issue and is also making use of EU funds in schemes to promote and facilitate conditions that promote the women's participation in the labour market.
This is a challenge that requires the collaboration of everyone. With the right working environment, a change in culture and the adequate financial support, the desired increase in the number of women joining the labour force will be achieved.
Mr Cini is a Nationalist Party candidate for the European Parliament elections.