News | Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Maltese career women most disadvantaged in the EU

Government officials, agencies offer no reaction

David Darmanin

After a media report last Monday revealed a disproportionately high rate of difficulty for Maltese women to move up the career ladder, the National Commission for Promotion of Equality (NCPE) and The Ministry of Social Policy have not yet prepared a reaction to the seemingly alarming figure presented in the EC report entitled “She Figures 2009”.
The report shows that Malta’s ‘Glass Ceiling’ – a term used to describe the ratio representing discrepancies between academic qualification and career prospects – is way higher for Maltese women than in any other EU member state.
Malta’s latest data was not available to the Commission, but based on 2004 figures, the island’s glass ceiling stood at a staggering rate of 11.7 – putting Malta at the top of the list, representing the worst-rated country. The second highest glass ceiling, of Cyprus, stood at 3.7 both in 2004 as well as in 2007. Lithuania came third, with a rating of 3.2 in 2004 and 3.0 in 2007.
The best rated country was Ireland – at 1.1 in both 2004 and 2007, faring only slightly better than the EU average, which stood at 1.8 in 2004 and 1.7 in 2007.
NCPE officials were Monday asked by this newspaper whether there was an explanation for such a high rating, and whether the commissioner was concerned with the outcome of this report. But in its reply, the commission said it would only manage to prepare a reaction by end of week.
The Ministry of Social Policy steered clear of offering its own reactions, as questions posed to government officials separately were forwarded to the NCPE itself and the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC). No reply ensued until the time of print.

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