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Women conspicuous by their absence
By
Miriam Dunn
The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development might have
been given an overhaul as the forum at which the social partners
can exchange views but it doesn’t seem to have entirely moved
with the times.
Data released in answer
to a parliamentary question put forward by Nationalist MP, Dolores
Cristina, shows that the number of female members on the board
of the MCESD is a shameful nil out of 30. And few of the other
government authorities, boards and commissions fared much better.
From the
boards that fall under the responsibility of the Office of the
Prime Minister, only eight of the 86 members are female, while
the figures for representation on the boards of the Finance ministry
are not so different – seven female members from a total
of 81.
Female representation
is much better on the boards and committees falling under the
Social Policy ministry – 86 members from a total of 309 –
but this is more likely to be due to the fact that women have
a history of association with the caring professions rather than
a conscious effort to encourage more women into decision-making
roles.
In fact,
it is evident that female representation improves on boards and
committees, irrespective of the ministry responsible, where there
is a significant social aspect to the set-up. For example, the
only two boards from the Home Affairs ministry with a significant
number of women on them are the Censorship Board for Films and
Theatre and the Prison Visitors’ Board. Both these boards
have four female representatives from a total of 14 and 13 respectively.
In the same
way, the National Commission for UNESCO stands out in the boards
and committees falling under the Education ministry, with five
female members out of a total of 11. Although female representation
on other boards in this ministry is better than most of the others
– 91 from a total of 379 – it is probably the National
Youth Council, with an equal 7/7 divide of male and female members
that is most significant. Many will be hoping that this is a sign
of changing times.
But figures
of female representation on the boards, authorities and commissions
in the traditionally male-dominated area of finance make depressing
reading if we were hoping to see any indication of progress.
IPSE, METCO,
Maltacom and MIMICOL have no women on their boards, while there
is only female representation, in the form of one or two members,
on six of the 21 boards falling under the Finance ministry.
The information
made public in answer to Ms Cristina’s question will leave
many observers pondering on the long-standing anomaly that from
the promising number of female graduates coming out of university,
few are making it into top posts and decision-making roles.
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