[WATCH] Women ‘work for free’ from 18 November as a result of the gender pay gap

For every €1 a man earns, a woman gets just 89c, a situation that was preventing the island from achieving a fully inclusive economy, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said.

The data highlighting the disparity between men and women comes from the National Statistics Office and a renewed spotlight was shed on the problem this morning with the unveiling of a video to raise awareness on the matter.

The video was launched just ahead of 18 November - Malta’s Equal Pay Day - which symbolically marks the day when women in Malta effectively start working for free for the rest of the year.

In the UK, women set up automated email replies saying: “I’m out of office until 2019”, to draw attention to the country’s gender pay gap.

The average hourly rate for women in Malta is 11% less than that for men. The gender pay gap is a more complex calculation that factors in other aspects that drag down women’s earnings.

The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women, which includes overtime, bonuses, and other perks, all expressed as a percentage of the average gross of the yearly earnings of men.

Coleiro Preca called for a society that fully respected women’s dignity. “This video is intended to create awareness about the complex factors contributing towards the gender pay gap. I hope that after watching this video, many will feel empowered to achieve practical solutions for gender equality,” she said.

The video forms part of a project pushed by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.

The video was an initiative by V Squared Media, done in collaboration with EY Malta, with the support of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta, the National Statistics Office, and emPOWer: Platform of Organisations for Women.

Rachel Cachia, director at V Squared Media, said that as a female-led company passionate about gender equality, she felt it was important to make a contribution towards raising awareness of the gender pay gap at a national level. 

“We need to promote greater participation of women at company decision-making levels, through supportive and transparent company structures, and by encouraging more female entrepreneurship,” she said.

Francesca Fenech Conti, a women’s rights activist and founder of the Facebook Group Women for Women, said companies must be encouraged to be more gender fair. “We should showcase and promote the ones practising transparent, and fair management,” she added.