Minister Helena Dalli said today that a number of measures were implemented by the government to promote equality between men and women and to address the gender pay gap. She said that 3,800 children attended child care centres between April and end December last year through the free childcare scheme. This scheme, she said, is for the children of parents who both work or who are in education. Other measures will be implemented shortly.

She was addressing a conference titled ‘The Gender Pay Gap Programme’ held at Project House in Floriana.

Anna Borg, Director Centre for Labour Studies, University of Malta said that on average, women in the EU earn around 18% less per hour than men.

In the US, she highlighted, women earn 70c for every dollar a man earns, so the problem is widespread. Surprisingly, Malta has one of the smallest gender pay gaps. Out of the 142 countries listed in an economic participation survey, Malta fares well since it is listed at 114."

Dr Borg said that the trend is positive. She said that in the case of Malta, legislation is in place so it is difficult to witness discrimination at the workplace.

“In Malta, until 1976, it was legal to discriminate and it was acceptable that women earned less than men. But this law was abolished,” Dr Borg said.

Outlining a number of theories which could explain the gender pay gap, she said: “Women take on more family responsibilities than men and this is the reason why a man is seen as an ideal worker and this may contribute to women earning lesser wages.

“Men are known to be more ambitious and negotiate their wages furiously because they feel they are the bread winners,” she said.

Only 29 per cent of women are scientists and engineers across the EU which, considered as high earning jobs. The rest pursue careers which generally do not pay well, mainly in the public sector.

There are structural barriers which contribute to men earning more than women, she concluded.

Anne Fenech, who is a director at Fenech & Fenech law and accounting firm, said that three quarters of the workforce within the firm are women, adding that it would never cross her mind that a woman should be paid less a man.

“We should eliminate the idea that men should earn more than women,” she said. Children should be told by parents that this idea does not stand, she added.

Interestingly, Malta has a gender gap of six per cent. But despite this, women professionals earn €19,000 annually while men earn €24,000 yearly.