Certain religious values may be hindering women’s contribution to the economy, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.
Dr Sant was speaking at the end of a seminar on equality organised by Fondazzjoni Mikiel Anton Vassalli at MLP headquarters in Hamrun.
While the government should respect traditional values regarding the family unit and the central role played by women in this regard, it cannot ignore the need to create a bigger space for women, even single mothers, to give their contribution to the country’s economy, Dr Sant insisted.
The importance of flexibility at work was one of the highlights of the seminar, which included a panel of speakers that pinpointed various issues, particularly the low percentage of women in the country’s work force and the way this affects the country’s economy.
Malta Employers’ Association (MEA) president Pierre Fava said both employers and employees need to make an effort to be flexible for a number of reasons, including the fact that the scenario of an ageing population is on the cards.
“We acknowledge the fact that the economic situation of the country requires more women in the work force, so flexibility at work is important in this regard since family commitments cannot be ignored.
Family commitments include young people spending more time caring for their elderly parents, so the importance of flexibility at work is two-fold.”
Mr Fava said the MEA is taking this changing scenario seriously and one of the reasons why it considers pensions reform an urgent matter.
The association president also drew attention to the fact that both men and women need to take an active part in family life. When discussing the lack of family-friendly measures, few people speak about the importance regarding the responsibility of both parents in the family unit, he said.
Moreover, family-friendly measures need to be affordable for employers. The MEA recognises that such measures may also help increase productivity if they are planned in such a way to lessen employees’ stress levels.
He also pointed out that there are situations that hinder women from advancing in the world of work. A clear example of this, he said, is “when a girl is offered the opportunity to receive training abroad, but refuses because her boyfriend would not allow it”.
Mr Fava insisted that such a situation is absurd and such attitudes need to change if the focus is going to be that of improving the quality of life of each and every one of us.
Secretary general of the General Workers’ Union Tony Zarb was also one of yesterday’s main speakers and among other things, he stressed that schools must work to eliminate stereotypes of men and women and their role in society.
He highlighted the union’s principle that women should be given every opportunity to advance in their chosen career with no discrimination, so that the percentage of women in the work force (at present 36 per cent) will reach the EU target of 60 per cent in 2010.
Bringing yesterday’s seminar to a close, the Labour leader, as well as Labour’s main spokesperson on women’s rights and the civil service Helena Dalli, both spoke about the fact that little has been done to increase female participation in the work force.
Ms Dalli said the country seems to be running on the spot because it had not really moved forward in this regard and many people still find it extremely difficult to find a work-life balance.
Dr Sant, too, said that much more would have been achieved over the past 10 years had the country been guided by a specific strategy to address the issue of the low rate of female participation in the work force.