The Chamber of Commerce stated recently that a higher participation rate of women in the workforce is needed to sustain Malta’s pensions. In the words of Chamber president Tancred Tabone, more women in the labour market would increase incomes for pensioners and alleviate the burden on the social security system by stimulating private saving.

The fact is that, despite having raised the retirement age to 65, “the present numbers don’t add up”, warned Mr Tabone. However, in a gender context, where men and women have different lifestyles and careers, stakeholders claimed that this issue has to be addressed in a specific manner that accommodates various needs if the national wealth is to be sustained and perhaps increased.

Quite right too, when one considers that the participation of women in the labour market has never risen above 40 per cent, which is far below the EU target of 65 per cent. It means that, as the Malta Women in Business president Doris Sammut argues: “When one considers that the percentage of males in the labour market is 75 per cent, Malta seriously lacks the female input”. Her reclaims are not only based on terms of equality but also in terms of economic productivity, since the entire economical burden is based on “just 55 per cent of the possible working population”. This low rate puts considerable strain on the country’s ability to generate wealth and improve living standards. The same opinion is held by Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO) chairwoman Renee Laiviera, who said that “women are the resource that can be effectively tapped into in order to increase national wealth through direct productivity and the subsequent payment of income tax, VAT and national insurance contributions”. This would obviously lead to “more income for the workers, which would generate more economic activity, as well as create job opportunities”.

In this respect, Ms Laiviera points out that the government should address pension reform by taking gender differences into account. She claims that, although in the pre-budget consultation paper the government declared its intentions to continue working on the proposed pension reform programme, “no information at all was given on how this will come about, what groups within society were going to be affected and in what way”. In this respect, despite the introduction of measures and fiscal incentives, the pre-budget document admits that so far the shortfall in the rate of women participating in the labour market, especially during child-bearing years, has not been effectively addressed. The Malta Council of Women chairwoman claims that measures introduced to date are not covering the different needs of women, “on whom society still places the main responsibility of raising the family”. In this sense, Ms Laiviera argues that there is an urgent need to draw up an overall cohesive plan of action to provide support services for mothers and children, since “supporting a mother to remain at work is a plus to all stakeholders, the woman herself and society in general”.

Of similar opinion is the CEO of the Foundation for Human Resources Development who said that affordable and quality child care is needed both to facilitate the process of moving women into employment and to enhance the socialisation process of children as early as possible. However, he also mentioned the fact that Malta has the highest rates of school drop outs, highest rate of young people leaving the educational system without qualifications and a low rate of young people who do not go for higher education. “Our competitors are moving faster than us and this can be seen from the increasing numbers of foreigners coming to Malta and taking up good positions simply because they are qualified and no Maltese individuals could be found to fill the vacancy” said Joe Gerada.

Moreover, although public bodies must effectively address the question of female participation in the workplace, the business community should also watch its rate of “inclusiveness”, according to Weave Consulting founder Dr Roberta Lepre. As the managing consultant of this consultancy boutique firm, she has gained extensive experience in the field of equality and diversity issues, empowering organisations to manage organisational equal opportunity concerns through tailor-made services. From her experience in the private sector, Malta has become much more inclusive over the last few years, but there are still some sectors where “diversity is not managed proactively”. That is why, as Dr Lepre says, organisations and in particular “human resources managers need to start addressing this state of affairs in a more organised and systemic manner”. She says that HR professionals “should develop equality policies, after an examination of their workplaces and consultation with their employees”. Likewise, the founder of Weave asserts that these policies must be accompanied by “effective training for both management and staff” and should also include an effective “complaint mechanism to allow employees and other persons covered by the scope of the policy to address their complaints, should they arise”.

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) agrees with Dr Lepre, saying it firmly believes that encouraging equal opportunities for both men and women in the workplace enhances the participation of both genders in employment, which will then be reflected in their respective pensions. In this respect, within their project Unlocking the Female Potential, the NCPE rewards the ‘Equality Mark’ to Maltese companies which proves they are gender-equal in the opportunities they offer, by assessing enterprises’ policies and practices, including recruitment and employment practices and the implementation of family-friendly measures.

While the reform is underway, the business and public sector should identify a common plan where gender -different lifestyles and career development are kept in mind if the burden in the social security system is to be alleviated. It is not just a question of being equally friendly, but economically sustainable, since the 55 per cent of the working population that is in productive employment is simply not enough to provide an acceptable standard of living for the people.

Ms Garcia Reche is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development