Labour ramps up efforts to attract women to LEAD programme through Facebook Q&A

Education minister Evarist Bartolo and EU Affairs minister Helena Dalli will be the first two mentors taking part in the Labour Party’s lead programme, according to Miriam Dalli who is overseeing the project.

Speaking during a Facebook Q&A session, Dalli said that the initiative would see Labour fielding a gender balanced list of candidates by the 2027 general election. She said that while the programme had initially intended to take on 12 new candidates a year, but given that there had already been a great deal of interest in the initiative, the number was being raised to 35.

Dalli said that applications would open on the 28 August, adding that she had already received some 40 CVs ever since plans for the initiative were announced a month ago. The Q&A session, she said, would explain to people exactly what LEAD consisted of, and how people could join.

“The aim of the initiative is to attract more women, aged 16 and above, who are interested in offering their contribution to the Labour Party and the country,” said Dalli. “It is an initiative for those with the energy and the desire to do something different.”

The MEP was joined for the session by lawyer and former MP Deborah Schembri, who Dalli said had been one of the first people to “show an interest”. Schembri will also be working on the initiative together with a dedicated team.

Schembri insisted that the country had the potential to use both men and women to their full potential and that the opportunity to increase female representation in parliament should not be “squandered”.

Both women insisted that above all, LEAD would be giving some women the push they required to finally make the leap into politics, and to instil in potential candidates a love of politics.

“We would like to see the initiative opened to males as well as females in the future,” added Dalli.  

Asked by one viewer whether applicants needed to already have had a background in politics or a related field, Dalli stressed that the LEAD was looking for anyone with the determination and energy to work.

Dalli said that after applications opened on the 28 August, the programme would be divided across different segments including mentoring, door to door visits and other work with constituents, networking events and a development programme that will include training in aspects of law and economics, among other subjects.

In addition, the selected candidates would also be involved in “national awareness campaigns”, playing an active role in their organisation.

Responding to another question on the type of training candidates will receive, Dalli said the programme would include lectures in political thought and how it has developed in Malta over the years, International relations, Malta’s relation with the EU and The Euro-Mediterranean region. Additionally, training on how to write press releases, articles as well as how to conduct an interview will also be given.

Applicants will be paired with a number of different mentors and will be given one-on-one attention over the course of the programme.

Gender quotas and family-friendly measures

A number of viewers had questions regarding whether gender quotas were effective and whether it might have made more sense to appoint more women to decision-making roles in the various government agencies and institutions.

On quotas, Schembri said there were a number of studies that showed that the larger the percentage of female candidates, the better the parliamentary representation.

Moreover, she said that while a debate on the quotas needed to be had, LEAD went beyond quotas, as it was intended to ensure more female candidates, which the electorate would still be required to choose from.

“The programme will be empowering women who might wish to do their part but need that last push,” said Schembri

Dalli added that the Labour Party’s was adopting a proactive approach to the issue of women MPs, insisting that irrespective of whether one believed quotas were a viable solution, something needed to be done in the short-term for progress to be made.

Turning to family-friendly measures being introduced to parliament, Schembri said that when she was elected MP back in 2013, she had brought up the issue of changing the time at which parliament met, adding that despite Prime Minister Joseph Muscat being in favour of the measure, a number of male MPs, mostly lawyers had objected to such a move.

“I was recently informed however that there are probably going to be some changes to parliament’s opening hours soon,” said Schembri.