This year’s Woman’s day is just a few days away.  This day serves as a commemoration and appreciation for the political, social and economic achievements of women throughout the years.  Women empowerment has come a long way and as a society, we are becoming more conscious about the importance of gender equality and the weight it holds for a better functioning society.  Woman’s day for 2019 is focused on finding innovative ways in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.  Whilst we celebrate and embrace the many accomplishments, it is also a time for reflection and awareness on issues that are still preoccupying to societies around the world with particular focus on Maltese society. 

One of the most troubling issues, still being experienced by Maltese women is domestic violence.  It is both a fact and a concern that in the last eight months alone, four murders have been linked to domestic violence.  According to the Annual Crime Review, domestic violence reports continue to keep their place as the 2^nd most reported crime in Malta.  Malta has committed and ratified various international treaties in order to combat violence against women and domestic violence, however, we need to work more on our national strategies as well.  We need to improve our prevention and training programmes and make domestic violence awareness an ongoing commitment. 

The media is another sector where Malta is regrettably not making enough effort to improve women’s standing. As reported in a case study carried out by the European Parliament, women are underrepresented in Maltese media. Moreover, women are still appearing in ‘soft’ housewife oriented programmes and often stereotyped.  Many respondents participating in the study have said that they have experienced gender discrimination at some point in their career in the media sector, apart from harassment and bullying.  Regrettably, women in the media are still seen as inferior to men.  We need to put all our efforts into changing the attitude of our society and build one in which every person values the other equally.  Here I cannot not also refer to Daphne Caruana Galizia who was constantly denigrated throughout her life, not least for being a woman, something which is still taking place to date.  It is a fact that many vile attacks against her reflect a mysoginist attitude.

Another crucial issue that we need to speak about and bring awareness to especially on Woman’s day, is the issue of the gender pay gap.  This government has on numerous occasions vouched to make Malta the best EU Member State, with equal rights for all.  Studies from the Global Gender Gap Index, carried out by the World Economic Forum, speak of another truth.  Rather than improving the pay gap along the years as was promised by the government, Malta has dropped a whopping 22 places with regards to women’s salaries – from 84^th place in 2013 to 93^rd place in the present day.  Malta has also taken a step backwards with regards to equality of salaries for men and women when in 2013 we were placed 19^th and now stand at 42^ndplace.  These results speak for themselves and can only mean that this government is not doing nearly enough to eliminate gender equality. 

It is not only at the workplace, in the media and with regard to domestic violence that we need to work on in Malta.  When it comes to health, our national ranking as regards the gender gap has dropped 37 places since 2013. 

When evaluating all these results, one cannot help but question if in fact, the government is really putting its efforts into improving equality or if it is in real terms ignoring the issue altogether. 

As a Member of the European Parliament, it is my privilege to do my best to serve as a voice for our people. It is my responsibility to fight for what is right and to come up with ideas and solutions to improve this current situation. Last Friday I participated in a public discussion as part of International Woman’s Day, organised by the European Parliament Office in Malta.  Here, I highlighted the importance of gender equality to once again be considered a priority by the government.  I also highlighted the need for more transparent working conditions, a matter on which I worked at the European Parliament through a new directive.  Furthermore, I reiterated the importance of the setting up of a European Work Authority which I have pushed for at the European Parliament to protect people from discrimination in cross-border jobs or when people work abroad.

The another issue that I have addressed at European Parliament level regards forced marriage. Several young women are forced into marriage including on EU soil. I have worked on this issue through the Committee on Human Rights of which I am a member, calling for enhanced education, women empowerment and victim support.

We need to work for an equal, non-discriminatory society in Malta.  Success cannot only be measured by how much money a country is rendering but in by how content people are and by assessing the equal opportunities that individuals are given.  If we want to be amongst the best in the EU, then we have to start by improving the very basic, albeit necessary issues. Let us work together to make gender equality a reality, to improve our society’s future generation, where gender discrimination will be a thing of the past and only read about in our history books.