Acknowledging the work of many courageous women activists whose foresight in different parts of the world paved the way to gender equality, not without difficulty and personal pain, the National Council of Women calls for an analysis of the Maltese situation to ensure that, as women forge their way ahead, their plans can be translated into action
A study by the National Statistics Office, recently commissioned by NCW, showed that 86.1 per cent of single and 80 per cent of married women thought there should be a balance in Parliament. In the case of men, these figures stood at 62.7 per cent and 68.1 per cent respectively. Also worth noting is that 15 per cent of men who think there should not be a balance feel women must look after the family and 14.3 per cent of like-minded women said women have no time.
Similar results can be seen with regard to local councils, with the largest proportion – 32.8 per cent – of respondents saying there should not be a balance because men are more suitable.
These results should not be taken lightly. Perceptions reflect the different attitudes and situations of life of men and women, who, unconsciously or not, are engaged in power sharing. The challenge is how to address power, inequality and/or abuse of power. Very often, the demands of a patriarchal society or a male-dominated society like ours encourage and reinforce the imbalance of power.
Often, as a result of lack of self-confidence or culturally ingrained attitudes, behaviour and lack of support structures, the potential of many capable women is lost. However, the success stories of the increasing number of women entrepreneurs in Malta clearly give a different dimension of women’s determination to succeed.
The traditional working patterns of many political parties and government structures continue to be barriers to women participating in public life. Women may be discouraged from seeking political office by discriminatory attitudes and practices, family and childcare responsibilities and the high cost of seeking and holding public office. The state, a male-dominated institution, has failed to put in place the necessary infrastructure to strongly address the “socially construed” inequalities and the biological differences to ensure equal represention of men and women in all decsion-making posts. Women in politics and decision-making positions in governments and legislative bodies contribute to redefining political priorities and providing new perspectives on mainstream political issues.
Lack of adequately addressing gender imbalance in our education system from an early age has not helped either. Gender inequality is further perpetuated by the way women are portrayed in the media, in particular in reporting news: women are almost always depicted as victims, hardly ever as achievers, except in sports. The media, also male dominated in decision-making posts, tends to reward women for the aesthetic qualities – fashion, beauty contests and the like, in short as objects to please rather than as beautiful yet intelligent, enterprising and good decsion-makers at all levels – political and economic
Many women fail to understand that men’s hostilities are based on fear and personal insecurities, fear of failing to make the “masculine” grade as expected by society, in particular by their peers. We need to tackle the myth that naming violence against women and girls as a gendered issue is equivalent to labelling all men as potential perpetrators or that perpetrators are never motivated to change their behaviour.
We should also be addressing issues of women in vulnerable groups such as teenage mothers, immigrant women, women with disabilities, women facing domestic violence and women in undeclared domestic work. According to a June 2010 ILO report, domestic work accounts for between five and nine per cent of all employment in industrialised countries. The report states that “paid domestic work remains virtually invisible as a form of employment in many countries”.
NCW will be launching a campaign roping in men and boys in general to stand up against violence against women, encouraging them to have a proactive, rather than defensive, response and not to tolerate or perpetrate violence against women and girls. At the same time, the campaign will address those men and boys who commit violence against women and girls with the aim to stop them perpetrating violence.
Women need to engage men in authentic discussion, using well-chosen messages and male role models and male voices. More emphasis on the importance of men as nurturers and carers, which society is depriving them of, can go far in dismantling these inequalities and help build relationships where men and women complement each other in a society that is fast becoming individualistic.
The author is president of the National Council of Women.