The X Factor

Regular readers of this column will know that I am a vocal supporter of quotas as a means to rectify current imbalances in gender participation on public sector boards and publicly held companies. However I have always been categorical about the fact that women appointed on a quota system must be at least as qualified and as experienced as her male colleagues on the board. The only reason that quotas are required is to force the people (who tend to be men of a certain age) appointing the board members to search for candidates of equal capability but of different gender beyond their immediate circle of colleagues and acquaintances and overcome the barriers that women face due to old boys' networks.

There is no way that I would ever condone a system where a woman is given preference simply because she is a woman, and is appointed notwithstanding the fact that there are men who are more experienced or more qualified for the post than she is. This principle is based on my belief that women are equal to men and are just as capable - we do not need to be given preference, we simply need to have some barriers removed. We will break down all the other walls ourselves.

So as you can imagine I was appalled to read about Claudette Buttigieg's maiden speech in parliament. After playing a little game of percentages (there are five women on either side of the house, but seeing as there were substantially less PN MPs elected the proportion of women to men on the opposition benches exceeds that on the other side) she stated:

"I welcomed the Prime Minister's statement that he would lead by example when it comes to change male-centric attitudes and I truly hope that this won't be simple rhetoric. Out there, half the population is expecting to see this change... couldn't he appoint more women to Cabinet? When Lawrence Gonzi was elected prime minister, only two women were elected to parliament and both of them were appointed ministers."

There is so much wrong with this statement that I do not know where to begin.

First of all there is the fact that Claudette Buttigieg is being a little economical with the truth. As she well knows, one of the five women elected on the Labour Party ticket made it on the basis of a by-election, while a second had her seat contested in court by the PN at the time that the Prime Minister was appointing Cabinet, so neither of these two women was available for his consideration. This means that Joseph Muscat appointed 66.6% of the women MPs available to him as opposed to approximately 55% of the men MPs. It is clear that there is no way that we can accuse him of favouring males.

The second, and to my mind much more serious problem, is the fact that Ms Buttigieg's statement is highly insulting towards her PN colleagues Dolores Cristina and Giovanna Debono, apart from reflecting badly on Lawrence Gonzi's judgement. They might not have reacted publicly about the matter but I am sure that they are not pleased at the insinuation that Lawrence Gonzi appointed them solely because they have a uterus and not because they were the best person for the job.

Similarly, Lawrence Gonzi cannot possibly approve that one of his MPs has shed doubt on whether he put the public interest first when selecting his Cabinet. It would not be good for the country if ministers were chosen on the basis of gender and I'm sure that Lawrence Gonzi did not in fact do such a silly thing. I am certain that he appointed Dolores Cristina and Giovanna Debono because they were the best candidates available for the positions in question. Implying otherwise is grossly insulting and should not be tolerated.

It could be that Claudette Buttigieg did not realise the implications of her statement when she penned her maiden speech, however there is no doubt that the sentiments she expressed were not condoned by the great majority of Maltese women. I know many women who are working hard in a wide variety of professions and none of them would react kindly to being appointed to some new position solely because they have an X chromosome. Women have a lot more to offer than just that and it is time that our MPs, Claudette Buttigieg included, take cognisance of that.