[WATCH] Sant on female participation: Introducing quotas only way forward

Progress on female participation, particularly in decision-making roles, has been limited by a lack of political will, Labour MEP and former prime minister Alfred said on Monday.

“On this subject, I feel like I am running on the spot. We’ve been discussing it in the same way for last twenty years,” he said.

Sant was speaking during a panel discussion organised by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality on the occasion of International Woman’s day, where the importance of breaking gender stereotypes was a main theme.

He insisted that for change to occur, the environments within which decisions were taken needed to be changed as well.

The introduction of quotas was the only way for that to happen, he said.

“The environment at the moment is predominantly masculine and decisions are taken using a male mind-frame, so we further exclude the ones who are already excluded,” Sant said, emphasising the importance of changing “structures” in both the public and private sector.

He spoke of the need for political parties to ensure higher female participation in parliament, and not just at candidate level.

“I don’t believe that the constitution should be changed, except when it comes to introducing a quota on female MPs,” said Sant.

With regards to business, he said the situation was slightly more difficult because many Maltese companies were family-owned and not listed publicly.

Labour Party executive member, Nikita Zammit Alamango, also spoke in favour of the introduction of quotas and pointed out that the first time she was elected to the PL executive it was through a quota, though it hadn’t been used since.

“It’s a necessary evil for us to have until we have enough role models,” she said.  

Among the issues discussed was the need for better education of children, who in many cases were already being taught – consciously or otherwise – that a woman’s place was at home or that females should look up to males.

JosAnn Cutajar, a senior lecturer in gender studies, pointed out that despite some gains made in female participation in the workforce, the majority of decision-making roles remained more difficult for women to realistically aspire to in today’s society.

She underscored the responsibility held by different media houses to fight the urge to propagate gender stereotypes, including women being portrayed as weak or only as domestic carers.

“Reversing this trend required more family-friendly measures and a more equitable distribution of caring duties, as this would not cause women to choose between their family life and a career,” Cutajar said.

She called on political parties to come up with tangible and concrete goals and deadlines for policy change. Furthermore, she said Malta was still lagging behind in data collected on women in society, making it difficult to inform policy without the relevant data.

“We need a wider discussion that includes men, because they are key to changing things,” she said.

Helena Dalli (right) said parental leave system needed to be restructured. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday

Maternity leave should not only be for women

In her opening remarks to the conference, civil liberties minister Helena Dalli said that it is time for the country to give parents significantly more flexibility in the way they use parental leave.

“If we are going to move towards a society where both parents contribute to the upbringing of a child, then maternity leave should not be something only the woman benefits from,” said Dalli. “If we truly want to move forward with the thinking that both parents are important for the child and the family, then we must remove this rigidity in the way we think.”

Dalli said that the government would soon be introducing more measures aimed at protecting women both at home and in society, following the signing of the Istanbul Convention against domestic violence.

“We have introduced a raft of amendments to the law on violence against women,” she said, adding that they would be tabled in parliament once they are approved by the Attorney General. 

The minister said that significant gains have been made in moving towards a more equal society, especially over the past few years, however there is still a lot more to do so that every woman has her own financial independence.

“No woman should accept to be in a situation that is not acceptable to her, but she can only leave that relations hip If she is financially independent,” said Dalli.