3.8% ‘record increase’ in female participation

Female participation has increased by a record 3.8% during the third quarter of last year, reaching 47.8%. But while the majority of students graduating from the University are female, yet decision-making positions and top posts are male-dominated.

The provision of free childcare centres has been hailed as one of the measures that would encourage more women to join the workforce; a directory of Maltese women, which identifies qualified women in various fields, is in the process of being updated; while quotas for women in executive roles have been described as “a necessary evil”.

Only one in four government board members are women, but Prime Minister Joseph Muscat claims that the appointment of a female president and the increased number of female members of the judiciary will serve as role models for upcoming generations.

Compared with the female participation in the European Union, Malta lags severely behind.

But Finance Minister Edward Scicluna feels “encouraged” by the NSO data: “The increase is very encouraging and it shows that we are catching up fast.

“We hope that with the social measures being enacted, this will accelerate in the years to come,” Scicluna told a meeting of the

International Council of Women.

Scicluna said the Maltese female workforce represents a resource that has not been fully tapped: “As a long term University faculty member, it pains me to see more women than men following our university degree programmes, only to find later that more men than women remain in the workforce. So much talent and training being underutilized.”

The finance minister reiterated the government’s free childcare service initiative was crucial to address this situation, facilitating women’s access to work by providing quality and affordable childcare that will alleviate family burdens.

“It allows women to reach their potential while knowing their children are in safe hands. Of course, childcare centres shouldn’t simply be places to park children. I know my colleague, the Education Minister, has been working hard to introduce an element to stimulate children so that they gain a worthwhile experience, learning and interacting with other children,” he said.