Communications students yesterday launched an information campaign aimed at managers and employers to implement family-friendly measures at the workplace.

The campaign, organised by the students in collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), is titled Believe in Family-Friendly Measures. Drive It.

One of the students, Sue Zrinzo explained that the campaign formed part of the final year practicum for students reading a B. Communications course.

The credit was split in two phases and began in October. The first set of students – a total of eight – conducted a series of interviews among four employers and managers who recently implemented family-friendly measures at the workplace.

The second phase of the project – drawing up the campaign and implementing it – was carried out by Sue Zrinzo and Samantha Mamo.

Ms Zrinzo said the feedback from the employers following the implementation of these measures was very positive.

“The campaign will emphasise the fact that teleworking and flexi-time applies too, and are of benefit, to both men and women,” she said.

Family-friendly measures helped to maintain healthy work and family relationships and was beneficial to both the employers and employees, added Ms Zrinzo.

Course coordinator and lecturer Brenda Murphy spoke about the importance of similar collaborations between the university and industry.

“It is only through these schemes that students get the hands-on experience they need before they enter the working world,” she said.

The campaign will last five weeks and will include a series of articles appearing on local newspapers.

Ms Zrinzo explained that the campaign will come to an end with a workshop where employers participating in the campaign will address their colleagues about their experiences with family-friendly measures.

Anna Borg, Head of Gender Equality Unit at the ETC said Malta had one of the lowest rates of female participation at the workplace when compared to other European countries.

The study was carried out in 2003 by the ETC in collaboration with the National Statistics Office (NSO), with a sample of 820 women.

Ms Borg explained that the study was carried out to understand the work aspirations of inactive women.

The majority, 71 per cent, said they had been employed before. Of these, 49 per cent said they had been machine operators and assemblers, 19 per cent had had clerical jobs, 16 per cent had worked in services and sales, and nine per cent had had what was described as “elementary” jobs.

Half of the respondents, 50.9 per cent, said that they were not willing to start working again.

Ms Borg said that those who said they did not want to work again were older women, had more children, and that these children were older.

Furthermore, she added, these women had a lower educational achievement.

She explained that these women felt out of touch with the labour market and were settled in their family life.

“They probably do not have as many loans and are financially settled while their family members are dependent on them. Also, the lower their educational status is, the chances of them wanting to work are lower,” said Ms Borg.

Dr Murphy added that another possible reason why they preferred not to work was that they came from an older generation where it was not common for women to work, something that even the husbands might not like.

The women who said they were willing to work, 44.8 per cent, were younger. In fact, said Ms Borg, at least 60 per cent of these respondents were in the 25-34 age group.

They also had younger children and many had partners who had second jobs.

At least 80.8 per cent of inactive women whose partner had a second job said they would like to work. Almost 60 per cent of women whose partners did not have a second job said they would like to start working again.