Over 2,160 mums today receive assistance allowances because they live close to the poverty line, an increase of 60% over 2003. Total payments – over €8 million
27% of women with children are full-time workers
66.5% do not work
37% of mothers say you have little or no decision-making power at work compared to 38% of women who do not have children
62% say you have considerable or high decision-making power
52% of mothers have ‘an interest’ in being promoted at work, compared to 55% of women without children
85% say lack of partner’s support, child responsibilities and long hours are obstacles to obtaining a managerial position
Just under 30% make use of childcare facilities.
But mothers prefer to leave their children with the grandparents.
Source: ‘Perceived obstacles to the participation of women in decision-making positions’ survey by the NSO and the National Council for Women, in which a sample of 1,432 individuals was selected.
Helena Dalli
Where to begin? I suppose “the challenges mothers face today” have to be seen in the context of the economic recession of which women are bearing a disproportionate burden. This is because many women’s social and economic circumstances make them particularly vulnerable to economic downturn.
They are the first to be hit by unemployment since they are more likely to be working part-time and in weak employment. They are experiencing more than ever before pregnancy and maternity discrimination; women are losing their job simply because they got pregnant. Women are more likely to work flexibly and this is being abused to the extent of making working life impossible for women who have to organise childcare. We all know that women’s employment decisions are more directly affected by childcare costs and availability. We also know that women are more likely to be low paid and that there exists a gender pay gap. Women are also more likely to be the heads of one-parent families and for them the challenge of combining taking care of children and employment is greater. As a consequence, a high percentage of children living in poverty are found in one-parent families. Women in general are more likely to have fewer financial assets and thus more likely to be living in poverty. Women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence – it is also true that this kind of violence can increase as a consequence – albeit a hidden one – of the recession.
The government must send the message across that it is striving to create a more just economy post-recession with the concomitant necessary structures, whereby women’s talents and skills are used to their full potential. However the signs are not good.
This has to be seen in the context of the World Economic Forum gender-gap ranking of 130 countries where we placed no. 83, slipping down seven places from the previous list. Need I say more? Happy Mothers’ ay.
Helena Dalli is Labour MP and a sociologist
Claudine Cassar
As an extremely busy mummy of three – Katrina (6), Jade (3) and Luca (5 months) – I believe that I am a living case study of how crazy the life of a working mother can get!
I am one of the generation of women who grew up believing that we had lots of options and that if we worked hard enough, anything was possible. However nothing could have prepared me for how difficult the reality turned out to be!
Our society pays lip service to career and family balance – however the reality is that Maltese women face enormous obstacles when trying to return to work after having a child. This is borne out by the fact that our country has the lowest level of female employment in Europe. We all know that Maltese women are as capable as their counterparts throughout the EU, so why are so many more opting to stay at home, instead of returning to the workplace after becoming mothers?
Women who want to rejoin the workforce deserve help and encouragement. It was a great disappointment to me that government recently decided to go back on its promise to give eligible mothers a full year’s income tax free. Capping the tax credit at €2,000 on the premise that this will curb abuse is an insult. I know many hard-working and capable mothers who earn more than €18,900 – and implying that they would be abusing the system because they are highly paid is ridiculous!
The best way to curb abuse is to check that the salary earned during the tax-free year is in line with previous income, with a benchmark allowing at most a 5% to 10% raise on the last year of employment before having a child. I urge the authorities to reconsider their position, and give the full tax credit as promised.
Every mother needs to find her own life balance. I have found mine – it is a crazy, hectic life, but I love it – I wish all mothers, be they stay-at-home or stay-at-work a happy Mother’s Day. We surely deserve it!
Claudine Cassar is managing director of web development company Alert Communications
Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas
Mother’s Day has always been a day reserved for the family for me. This year will be a challenge to ensure that it’s reserved just for that. With less than a month to election day, my family – always a pillar of support – has made it clear that this is one lunch that takes precedence.
I have been meeting people from all walks of life for the past months, listening to their issues and seeing how best an MEP can help their particular situation. Some of the stories I hear and situations I see are truly heartbreaking. It is therefore difficult to appreciate Mother’s Day without some reflection on what challenges a number of families and mothers in particular are facing today.
Employment is top of everyone’s concerns; mothers face very particular challenges in this respect. We need to do more to encourage people, and mothers in particular, to be able to find work while at the same time ensuring enough flexibility so that people are not faced with having to choose between work and family commitments. Recent developments show that we are on the right track. The government’s initiative to give a tax break to new mothers returning to work is a perfect example of what needs to be done. This needs to be coupled with an increased number of child-care centres and increased support, but we are getting there.
It’s not only about immediate employment. Mothers also need to be encouraged to refresh their skills or continue their education in order for them to be able to enhance their future job prospects. While many mothers still face difficulties in managing this, the new child-care centre opened at MCAST, which is available to students and staff, does make things that much easier.
We need to continue with the fight to stamp out domestic violence. We only need to look at recent court cases to see the tragic consequences of the gaping holes in our system. These need to be addressed immediately and more needs to be done to protect the victims of these heinous crimes.
I am encouraged with the way things are going. A Eurostat survey shows Malta to have the second smallest pay gap in the EU – things are getting better but many mothers still face challenges that we need to continue to help mitigate and who knows with at least eight of us running from different parties this election might even see Malta elected their first female MEP.
Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas is a lawyer and a PN candidate for the MEP elections
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