“Women entrepreneurs are creating jobs, hope and opportunities in every community in Malta,” Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said during a recent seminar on female participation in the labour market.
This seminar is one of a series of seminars falling under the Women Entrepreneurs (WE) project being organised by SIFE University of Malta (SIFE UMT), addressing female participation in the labour market.
Each and every woman has the potential to invest in herself, grow her own business and realise her dreams. This was the main theme emphasised by all guest speakers during the seminar.
Facilitated by Alessia Zammit, a journalist by profession, and organised by a team led by Daria A. Bason, a student reading management, the seminar featured a number of guest speakers ranging from politicians to entrepreneurs.
During the opening speech, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Self-employed Edwin Vassallo highlighted the importance of small businesses on a social level and their contribution to the market.
Mr Vassallo insisted that all those involved in business have to give high priority to the value and ethics of business itself in their dealings.
Lucy Pace Gouder, an Executive at the Employment and Training Corporation Gender Unit said the employment rate in Malta is that of 55 per cent. According to statistics issued by the ETC, Malta has the lowest rate of woman participation in the labour market due to family ties.
Official statistics show a contrast of 5.7 per cent against a 19 per cent self employment rate between women and men respectively. “Twenty per cent of all the women who are contributing to the labour market are part-time workers,” Ms Pace Gouder said as she outlined the several governmental policies that were created in order to enhance social cohesion and increase the participation of women in the labour market.
Philippe Vancell, INT Programme coordinator, and John Gauci, Mentoring Service coordinator, introduced the audience to the concept of mentoring which is widely practised in the business world and in schools of management and marketing.
Doris Sammut, vice-president of the Malta Association of Women in Business and the Managing Director of Green Skip Group of Companies Ltd, referred to the necessary attributes and skills required by all those who start a business.
“Creativity, perseverance and dedication are the necessary access tools in order to reach success in any market” said Ms Sammut.
Other speakers included Caroline Agius, owner of the Caress Beauty Salon, Ariadne Massa, executive editor of Pink magazine, Mariella Scerri, owner-manager of Orienta and Charmaine Bugeja, a member of the foundation for Women Entrepreneurs. All of them gave their own personal experiences throughout their journey during which they established their business and reached their ultimate goals.
Antonia Farrugia, a Business Specialist for the Customer Credit Services at HSBC, also gave her contribution where she explained the banking services for all those women involving themselves in the labour market.
The seminar was organised by SIFE UMT with the collaboration of ETC and HSBC. SIFE University of Malta is the local branch of a global non-profit student organisation. The aim of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is to promote the active involvement of all individuals in the free market society.