Women’s participation in the labour market is just over 33 per cent. This is well below the European average and nearly half the EU Target for 2010, which is set at 60 per cent. The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) is one of the entities that is committed to understanding the reasons for women’s low labour market participation and to offering a range of initiatives that help women wishing to work to enter or re-enter the labour market, to retain their job and to progress within it.
The corporation has a Gender Equality Unit with a brief to take initiatives that increase equal access to employment. The unit is headed by senior executive Anna Borg who is assisted by Lucy Pace Gouder. It recently launched its Second Gender Equality Plan covering the period 2005-2006.
Asked about the ETC’s role in the national effort to raise female employment levels, ETC chief executive Sue Vella commented: “Contributing to this effort is one of ETC’s three principal thrusts over the coming years. We will continue to work closely with a range of entities, including the Commission for the Promotion of Equality and other stakeholders in government and in civil society. We would very much like to see gender equality genuinely mainstreamed throughout all policies and programmes and will be working hard at ETC to make the corporation an equally valuable resource for women and men alike.
“While stepping up our efforts to mainstream, we will also continue to work on a targeted programme of action to help women who wish to work, to do so. These initiatives have been described in our first and second Gender Equality Action Plans currently being implemented by our Gender Equality Unit.”
But what activities, initiatives and work have been undertaken by the ETC’s Gender Unit as part of its first Gender Equality Action?
Ms Borg said that work in the Gender Unit at ETC covered many areas and included studies, training, seminars, campaigns, involvement in EU projects and much more. She added that work was done with guidance teachers, union officials, policymakers, people within the media and with various experts in the gender equality field. She continued by saying that they had collaborated closely with the then Department of Women in Society and later with the newly-appointed National Commission for the Promotion of Equality between men and women.
Most of the initiatives described in the first Gender Equality plan were actually carried out. Some of them were stalled and others were slightly modified. However, Ms Borg added that: “Looking back, we have taken many other initiatives which were not listed in the Plan.” Below is a brief summary of the main activities which were undertaken by the Gender Equality Unit between 2002 and 2004.
Training
Training for ETC staff
In November 2003, Dr Alison Parken delivered a two-day training seminar on Gender Mainstreaming for senior managers, managers and senior executives working at ETC. The seminar, which included a step-by-step approach to gender proofing and gender impact assessments, was designed to enable ETC staff to create and deliver effective programmes which promote equality. During the training it was emphasised that the design of employment and training programmes must not reproduce inequalities by producing a “one-size-fits-all” service which does not account for the gendered differences of individuals’ daily lives and which may inhibit women from making a full contribution to economic growth and their own personal fulfilment.
Training for advertising agents
An information meeting was organised for key people involved in the advertising media about the changes in the Employment and Industrial Relations Act regarding advertising and gender equality. Dr Brenda Murphy, a university lecturer in media studies, addressed the participants and made suggestions regarding the use of language to ensure law compliance when accepting advertisements for jobs in their newspapers.
Training for guidance teachers
Guidance teachers in public and private schools were given training to update them on the legal developments in the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (2002) and The Equality for Men and Women Act (2003). During the training sessions, guidance teachers were briefed about these laws by Dr Roslyn Borg, who explained their relevance to the labour market. The workshops touched upon issues relating to the interviewing process, job advertisements and sexual harassment, among other things.
Training for personal and social development teachers and guidance teachers
On the occasion of the launch of a Manual for Gender-Sensitive Vocational Guidance, four training sessions were organised between March and April 2004 for all guidance and personal and social development teachers. The training included four workshops on career opportunities for both sexes, how to avoid gender stereotyping and work segregation, and the importance of getting boys and men to share in the workload at home.
Training for union officials
A two-day training seminar for officials from trade unions in Malta, which included the General Workers Union and Union Haddiema Maghqudin, was held early this year. This seminar was coordinated by Professor Godfrey Baldacchino.
The aim of the seminar was to provide background information, practical guidelines and checklists in order to assist and enhance the efforts of trade unions in promoting gender equality at the place of work, through gender-sensitive collective bargaining.
Six workshops allowed participants to reflect on gender issues and what concrete input they could make when drawing up collective agreements for employees. The topics discussed included the benefits for women participating in trade unions; the benefits for the various unions in attracting more women and the inclusion of gender-friendly clauses in the respective collective agreements, including childcare structures, parental leave entitlements and other work-life balance policies.
Training for women returners
Empowerment training is offered free of charge to unemployed women who would like to return to the labour market. The previous training course was reviewed and updated and is run on a continuous basis throughout the year. The course includes units on communication, working in a team, assertiveness skills, time management, conflict and stress management, job search and CV writing skills and interview skills, among others. The course also includes the sharing of experiences with role models who have made the transition from home to work.
Local projects
Ms Borg also indicated a number of local projects aimed at increasing female participation in the labour market. One of these projects was aimed at unemployed women from the Cottonera area in order to help them overcome specific obstacles through training and mentoring support.
The Training Services Division of the corporation was also involved and organised courses which attracted a good number of women who were interested in starting their own business.
EU-funded projects
The Gender Unit also looked beyond our shores to European Union members to benefit from their experience in gender equality and gender mainstreaming.
One of these projects, called Modern Men in an Enlarged Europe is aimed at fostering sustainable change in gender identities by encouraging men to take up parental leave. The project promoters are the Lithuanian Office of the Ombudsman and includes three other countries – Denmark, Iceland and Malta.
A successful event resulting from this project was a news conference which marked the occasion of Father’s Day. This was held at the post-natal ward at St Luke’s Hospital with the participation of MPs from government and the opposition and an official from Alternattiva Demokratika. The conference was widely reported in the media and was aimed at encouraging more Maltese men to take parental leave.
Ms Borg also explained that one of the problems hindering women returning to the place of work was the lack of childcare facilities on the island. So, to this end, the ETC has acquired funds from the European Union to launch a project entitled Increasing Female Participation through childcare services at the workplace.
She explained that the project, part-financed by the European Social Fund, aims to train more child carers and provide incentives to local companies to set up and run modern childcare centres at their place of work.
The ETC is also collaborating on an EU project with Italy on stereotyping in the media. Through this funding, scriptwriters, producers and journalists, in collaboration with experts in the equality field, will produce a manual with guidelines that will help overcome gender stereotypes in public opinion.
This project is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Politics in collaboration with RAI Italy and Spanish and French Television. Malta is represented through the ETC’s Gender Unit and the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality.
Ms Borg said seven Maltese people had been chosen to undertake training in order to produce guidelines for a more gender-sensitive portrayal of women and men in the media, and the first workshop was successfully held in Rome in June this year.
Article provided by the Employment and Training Corporation