Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Sunday morning that, despite all efforts, equality between the sexes in Malta only exists “on paper.”

He said, however, that the government is tackling the situation through political will, including through measures to increase the number of women MPs.

Speaking in Pieta, Muscat said he was wrong when he referred to these measures as “quotas.”

Instead, he is now referring to them as “positive temporary measures” that can be stopped by future administrations.

“Only 26 women have been elected to Parliament since elections were first held in Malta,” Muscat said. “This is clear inequality.”

“We will propose a mechanism where women will be given greater opportunities. Furthermore, these measures will be temporary and can be stopped in the future,” he said, adding that a period of public consultation will be launched in the coming weeks.

Some changes, being constitutional in nature, will require a two-thirds majority, he said. “But we will not be afraid - we will once again be at the forefront of change.”

Muscat said the country was doing well from an economic perspective. The economy grew by 6.6% last year, which was double the growth registered by other European countries. The wealth generated yearly by this country is over €12 billion.

“This is why we can afford increasing pensions and social benefits,” Muscat said, confirming that pensions will be increased again in next year’s budget.

“Nonetheless, there are still cases of inequality, of people who are still lagging behind, who struggle to pay their rent or to afford groceries. We are reducing poverty – people with severe material deprivation have been slashed by half. But there are still 14,000 people living in material deprivation and each one is a dagger in our heart.”

Muscat said the government was working on improving the situation of these people too, including through education, employment and social benefits.

“Equality does not exist in this country – we have laws for that and a government that wants to address the situation but equality between the sexes still does not exist. We managed to drastically increase female participation in the workforce through political willpower,” Muscat said.

While the government had introduced the free childcare scheme, which had very good results, it still showed that there was discrimination. “It shows that we are still in a situation where women are the main child raisers. In reality, childcare should help both parents, because children are the responsibility of both, not just the woman.”

He also noted that the gender pay gap is increasing instead of decreasing. “We have the highest gap in the EU and this is unacceptable for me. It means that women are being paid much less, and this means that women are more at risk of poverty. Equality between the sexes in Malta exists only on paper, not with facts.”

“The situation can only improve if there is a political will to do so, not by letting things take their course,” Muscat said, adding that only Labour was capable of improving the situation.  

He noted how this administration had increased the number of women judges and magistrates, saying this was only natural, because more women graduate from the law course at university.

Muscat also spoke about the presidency, thanking outgoing President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca for her sterling work and for “keeping up with the tradition of our heads of state of rising to the occasion.”

Turning to George Vella, who is nominated to become the next President, Muscat said the former foreign affairs minister was the right person for the job. He has integrity, has given many years of service to the country and is both well-informed and renowned in the international scene.

The Opposition had criticized the government for not choosing someone from the opposing political camp, Muscat said. “But the political background of the person we chose was the thing that we paid the least attention to.”

“The same was done when we appointed George Hyzler as Commissioner for Standards in Public Life. We did not regard the fact that he is a former nationalist Parliamentary Secretary. Despite the fact that he was part of a nationalist cabinet we believe that he is the right person for the job. And in the same way we chose George Vella because we believe that he is the best person to unite this country.”