Malta slips 15 places in Global Gender Gap Index

Malta has slipped 15 places in the Global Gender Gap Index, according to an analysis carried out by the World Economic Forum.

With an overall score of 0.671, Malta is ranking 99th out of 142 participating countries. In 2013 Malta ranked 84th out of 135 countries, registering a score of 0.676.

While Malta has been constantly falling in its ranking since 2006 – when it stood at the 71st place out of 115 countries – this is the worst it has fared since 2009 when the ranking fell to the 88th place out of 135 countries.

Compared to the original 0.6518 score registered in 2006, Malta attained a 2.9% increase in its score. The absolute change in score is of 0.0189.

According to the report compiled and analysed by the World Economic Forum, Malta, together with Italy and Turkey, are the only three countries from the European region that perform below average on the economic participation and opportunity subindex. Ahead only of Turkey, Malta is the second-lowest performing country on the estimated earned income indicator.

A breakdown of the country's scorecard sees Malta ranking amongst the leading countries when it comes to educational attainment. Malta ranks first in literacy rate, enrolment in primary education, enrolment in secondary education and enrolment in tertiary education.

When it comes to wage equality, Malta ranks 45th but, for economic participation and opportunity, it falls to the 116th place. The Mediterranean island ranks 114th in labour force participation and 121st for the estimated earned income.

In terms of health and survival, Malta ranks 98th, with a score of 0.970 compared to the 0.960 sample average.

Political empowerment ranks Malta 76th; 99th place for women in parliament; 82nd for women in ministerial positions and 19th for years with a female head of state.

Despite apparent efforts by political parties to attract more female candidates, Malta’s low female representation in parliament persists. During the 2013 general elections, both sides of the House each elected five female MPs. Only of two the Labour MPs went on to join Joseph Muscat’s Cabinet as ministers. A year later, then minister Marie Louise Coleiro Preca went on to be nominated and appointed President of the Republic. Faced with a Cabinet reshuffle, Muscat added a new female member to his cabinet, Gozitan Justyne Caruana, in the role of parliamentary secretary.

On the other hand, the 2014 European Parliament elections turned out to be a success for female candidates, securing four out of Malta’s six seats.

First introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, the global gender gap index is a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria.

While women represent one half of the global population, gender discrimination persists. As the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, put it, benefits of gender equality go beyond the economic case.

“There is another simple and powerful reason why more women should be empowered: fairness. Women represent one half of the global population – they deserve equal access to health, education, influence earning power and political representation. Their views and values are critical for ensuring a more prosperous and inclusive common future. Human’s collective progress depends on it,” Schwab said.

According to Schwab, the most compelling findings regarding the benefits of gender equality are emerging from companies.

“For example, companies that include more women at the top levels of leadership tend to outperform those that don’t. With a growing female talent pool coming out of schools and universities, and with more consumer power in the hands of women, companies who fail to recruit and retain women – and ensure they have a pathway to leadership positions – undermine their long-term competitiveness. And for those that do, the benefits of diversity are evident.”