Murmurings in the halls of Castille and the law courts have caused speculation as to when Malta would finally appoint a woman as a judge.

There are plenty of female magistrates, but until Wednesday, none had made it to the hallowed benches of the Civil or Criminal Courts. Well, that stigma has been removed in one fell swoop with the government appointing two women as judges as well as a new magistrate, who also happens to be female.

Not before time either. Malta has seen advancement in women being put into positions of “power”, but there is still a long way to go. According to the Lisbon Agenda, set out by the European Union to ensure that Europe is the most knowledge-based economy in the world, Malta lags way behind in the number of women who are actually in full time employment.

The numbers are increasing, but nowhere near as much as they should be and the government has come in for criticism for not doing enough. But sometimes, concrete measures simply do not do the trick, and actions speak louder than words.

Perhaps that is why this is such a positive move. Short of having a female prime minister, appointing two women to the bench, sends out a clear message that the government is trying to install more women to posts they deserve.

But as we said, there is still a long way to go. Even our parliament is very much trouser orientated with only a handful of women representing both parties.

True, we do have a female Commissioner for Children, but on the other hand, there is only one female police officer above the rank of inspector – we seem to be giving out mixed messages.

True, women do need to be encouraged to go out to work, especially in a country that has moved in leaps and bounds in the past years, but still suffers from a hangover of the “woman’s place is in the home” era.

On the other hand, a lot of women do make the best of their lot, especially in the private sector. By and large, there is no distinction in workplaces of whether a person is male or female, they are judged on performance and ability rather than their sex.

But still, we must do more. Simply announcing small measures to reduce taxes for women who work, or work part time is not enough. It is a question of moral fibre really, this country, particularly the civil service, needs to change its mentality from the trouser wearing and chest beating mode that it is today.

This not only comes down to how a department head acts, it must filter down through all sectors – right down to the attitude of the lowest ranked employees.

Back to the judges – a very positive move indeed, along with the appointment of a female press secretary to co-ordinate all government activities, does send out a very strong message indeed. One of the yardsticks of democracy is opportunities for women – finally we are really catching up. Well done to the new members of the judiciary, we are confident that they will take up their posts with zeal and succeed as they have done in their previous posts. Hopefully, they will serve as inspiration to others.