PN 'deceptive' in gender parity report analysis, minister says

The Equality Ministry has accused the Opposition of a deceptive analysis of the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum yesterday.

In a statement reacting to the report’s publication, the Opposition noted that Malta had slipped down a number of rankings into worse positions than it held in 2013. This, it said, proved that Muscat administration was not doing enough for women in society.

The ministry insisted that equality, social justice and social mobility were the three pillars on which the country’s economic development had been built.

It said everyone in society was benefitting from the country’s economic growth which has resulted in the country having record low unemployment and the highest female participation in the workforce.  

“Within this context, the Opposition’s analysis of the Global Gender Gap Report is deceptive and goes beyond the scope of the report,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the report is not intended to measure a country’s development, but rather the differences between men and women in society.

Taking employment as an example, the ministry said that in countries with high levels of unemployment, a situation of parity between the sexes could develop, since unemployment will affect men and women equally.

“In such cases, the score doesn’t indicate a better situation for women, but rather that the situation is difficult for both women and men,” it said.

It added that if one wanted to analyse progress made in a particular country over time, one would have to look at the country’s scores, rather than simply looking at its rank.  

The ministry said the report looked at four main indicators: economic participation, education, health and participation in politics.

It pointed out that Malta had improved its score in economic participation when compared to pervious years. In fact, it said Malta had improved its score in three of the five areas falling under this indicator.  

Moreover, it noted that Malta had obtained a perfect score in all health indicators and a 0.969 score out of 1 in health.

READ MORE: Malta edges down global gender parity index

“As regards to participation in politics, Malta improved its global score when compared to previous years, and obtained the same score regarding the percentage of women in parliament and the percentage of women in ministerial positions,” the ministry said.

It acknowledged that there was more to be done, but said it was happy to note that significant improvements had been made by women across all social spheres.

The government, it said, was determined to continue acting as a driving force for progress, as it would be doing through its constitutional reform aimed at ensuring equal representation in parliament.

“One would hope that the Opposition is able to put its money where its mouth is and to join the government in implementing these changes.”