It was stated at a recent Women’s Study Group seminar that women are practically invisible in the political sphere, both in Parliament and on local councils. They are actually on the decrease in the latter and also in the top posts of the Civil Service. What is the Commission’s position on affirmative action considering that gender equality in Parliament and elsewhere was only achieved through affirmative action in countries like Norway, Sweden, Belgium and France? Is there an alternative to affirmative action?

The Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women (NCPE), in fact, was established only two months ago, and it has a different remit from the previous Department of Women in Society as well as the former Commission for the Promotion for the Advancement of Women.

The Act governing the Commission itself says that measures of positive (affirmative) action can be taken to promote gender equality. How this positive action will be undertaken, is currently being discussed by the Commission members. I’d like to point out that the seven members of NCPE come from across the political and social spectrum. They are not there representing their parties, but they do have different political views. We are actively networking with all the parties concerned to arrive at the best strategy and targets within the local Maltese context, for realising gender equality. The exact methods through which we shall be undertaking this positive action still have to be decided, but we would definitely like to increase the gender dimension in all decision making bodies, both in the public and private sector.

How will you do that?

It is well-known that females, even those with credentials, tend to keep themselves back and the “old boys network” is still quite strong. With the change in Cabinet, all the government-appointed commissions and boards had to offer their resignation. The former department and ex-Commission had in fact created a database of women who have different lines of expertise. NCPE is currently expanding this database and refining it. Through this data base we have identified a number of women qualified to sit on these boards according to their areas of expertise, and we have offered our assistance to all the Ministers, informing them of the remit of the Commission, reminding them that it is part of government policy to increase the gender dimension and that NCPE is able to assist in the identification of appropriate females – they always say they cannot find the females . We actually have 500 women on the data base, and I am sure there are several more!

What powers have you got as a Commission? Have you got any teeth legally or are or you simply an advisory and mediating body?

The law outlines the measures to be taken in order to mediate and address any complaints made to the NCPE with respect to sexual harassment and advertising. However, if the NCPE considers that there is a case which cannot be solved through mediation, it has the legal power to inform the Commissioner of Police, who may then proceed to undertake the appropriate legal proceedings. In fact, the law relating to sexual harassment actually says what the punishment for such abuse can be: up to six months imprisonment or a Lm1,000 fine. Legal action can also be taken for adverts, for all jobs in all published media and even advertising by word of mouth, that may discriminate between males and females. It also includes addressing any form of discrimination in the selection of applicants, access to employment, or even less favourable treatment such as discrimination in promotions, training and work conditions, that may be related to sex or even family responsibility.

According to Article 12 we are empowered to identify, establish and update our policies, to identify the needs of all those, male or females, who are disadvantaged for reasons of their sex, and to monitor the implementation of national policies. We hope to develop NCPE more as a regulator and catalyst to assist employers and other institutions to instil the appropriate work practices and procedures in order to eliminate such discrimination.

Yes, but what power do you actually have to change things?

NCPE advises the Minister, but it also carries out investigations of complaints, which gives it the power to determine if there has been discrimination of any kind by any institution, private or public, including the State. There have been, for instance, circulars issued where the wrong gender sensitive language was used. The NCPE has already taken the appropriate steps to address these and similar issues and will continue to do so. The NCPE investigates complaints from both males and females. In fact, around one third of the complaints we have received to date were from males who are claiming discrimination for one reason or another, due to their gender.

How is the Commission planning to reach the Lisbon Council targets of 60 per cent female employment rate by 2010, when it is only 33.4 per cent? This would mean that every year we would have to increase the female rate by 5,000. How is it going to meet the other Lisbon Council deadline of the country providing 90 per cent childcare of 3-6 year olds and 33 per cent of those under three to have childcare?

The NCPE will be working both with the National Commission of the Family, the Commissioner for Children and the Employment and Training Corporation. The ETC has just published its National Action Plan, which includes a commitment to gender equality, minimising disincentives to female participation in the labour market, reducing gender gaps in employment, tackling gender segregation and reconciling work and life. We’re also hoping to liaise with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. We have to network with them first of all to find out the reasons why females in Malta are holding back from the labour market. What are the reasons? Lack of licensed childcare facilities and an after-school service for older children are only just two of the reasons. We tend to forget that there is often that gap between 2 and 5pm, for those children who finish school before their parents return home. There must also be a cultural and mental change towards promoting gender equality in Malta while maintaining the social fabric in the country.

How much clout do you have? Do you have power to put pressure on any of these agencies?

The NCPE is working and will work and network with these agencies. At the end of the day when you look at the resources of the country, females make up more than 50 per cent. Fifty-six per cent of university students, right now, are female. Why are we losing this important resource in the country? We have to look and assess what is happening to prevent these qualified women from pursuing a career. It is mostly due to lack of childcare facilities, but of course it is also cultural. We have to look at the work–lifestyle balance and we have to respect individual choices. But if both a female and a male feel they would like to continue working, why not offer these facilities?

Malta has one of the lowest rates of women in the fields of science and technology. What can be done to attract more women to these areas in education and employment?

The NCPE, the ETC and the Gender Issues Committee at university have just submitted a proposal for a project to UNESCO, whereby we would like to actually see what is happening to females in science and technology in Malta. All over the world, throughout their scientific career from university to postgraduate studies, post-doctoral placement, employment and eventually attainment of senior positions in universities and industry, women scientists drop out at every step on the career ladder until very few are found in positions of power and influence.

In Malta the percentage of females doing science is 47 per cent of undergraduate students including medicine, nursing, dentistry, engineering and the pure sciences. In medicine there are more than five per cent female and pharmacy is nearly seven per cent in some courses. This trend is true worldwide. They are less represented in engineering and the pure sciences. Women need to be more assertive than men to get anywhere and sometimes this may be perceived as aggression, so they tend to hold back. Very often, as a professional on a committee, the only female present is often expected to take the minutes, though I can say that things are improving. The problem is that not many women are prepared to take on what is known as “the traditional male models” of leadership and working patterns and prefer what are called “non-hovering” styles of management, which large organisations might find difficult to implement.

You have talked about women holding back. But what about our society? Doesn’t it hold women back too? Why are there so few women directors in the civil service?

Don’t forget that up to as recently as 1978, there was the marriage bar, which forced women to resign upon marriage. That has definitely set women back as well as the lack of flexi-time or job-sharing, but this is something NCPE shall be working on with the ETC, as well as the unions,we hope, in accordance with the National Action Plan to see how they can be implemented.

Do you think the argument could be used against encouraging women to join the labour force, that this would push up the level of unemployment, already on the increase?

Maltese society has to target and train different skills from those we’re used to and I think there are several skills that would be ideal for females or males who would prefer to work from home, such as tele-working. It is easy to access this information and we do have a lot of skills which we are wasting. I do think that if we target innovative areas, Maltese society and its economy, will move ahead. We cannot hold on to the ways and methods we have used until now. We talk about the lack of females in paid employment, but we forget that there is a substantial amount of women working in the voluntary sector, with the Church, local councils, charities, NGOs and fund-raising activities, who are not being paid but who are contributing greatly, in terms of time and free labour, to the social fabric of our society.

What can Malta gain from the EU conference on Women and Men in an enlarged Europe held in Malta this weekend?

We’ll be hearing about achievements, challenges and prospects in relation to the equal treatment between women and men in Europe, gender mainstreaming in policies, gender mainstreaming in social protection and social inclusion and so on.

How should the social exclusion of women be tackled?

The social exclusion of women could be tackled by focusing on and removing the barriers preventing women from accessing the labour market, shifting the emphasis away from providing subsidies to supplying individuals with the right tools so that they can get themselves out of dependence and finally, that gender should be identified as a core concern with regard to every single issue: human rights, growth and development and peace-making. The recent initiatives being taken by various educational institutions such as MCAST to target those who have never had the chance to complete their education are certainly to be applauded in this area. NCPE has also just launched an initiative among local councils in order to assess what can be done at local council level to promote gender equality, including “female returners”.

NCPE itself has limited resources and staff. The members of the Commission are all part-timers, but I think that with good will from all sides, irrespective of political views, Malta will move in the right direction, using the right tools for our specific social fabric, to achieve equality for men and women.