Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1219206
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2020 OPINION cry out desperately for help. Which, conversely, also means that all the other remedies that are supposed to be at our dis- posal – all the regulations that are in place, and the agencies and institutions that are meant to be 'safeguarding public safe- ty', and all that – do not actually work when they are called upon, either. The Viani Street case attests to this directly: the damage be- gan to occur last February, yet in practice it has proved impossi- ble to halt the excavations works ever since: no, not even when the existing cracks widen from one to three inches, and new ones start appearing every other day… Indeed, the whole point of TVM's focus on this particular case was to remind us all that what happened last Monday was certainly no 'freak occurrence'… on the contrary, it seems to be perfectly predictable. There are, after all, other residences that are in imminent danger of collapse, for the same reason… yet in spite of everything that has happened in recent years, the surrounding works simply continue regard- less: even in cases where dam- age has already been caused, and where architects have warned of the danger of collapse. And this, by the way, in com- plete defiance of all recent at- tempts to somehow 'bring the construction industry into line'. The same, incidentally, also ap- plies to the Parisio Street exam- ple – where the owner likewise complained about the illegalities, to no avail. So the two cases re- semble each other in more than just surface details: they both equally illustrate how the new building regulations, launched with much fanfare last year, have already proved spectacularly toothless in practice. Much worse, they can also be seen to be directly contributing to the anguish of the afflicted residents: for also in both cases, it fell to the occupants themselves to hire the services of an archi- tect to contest the developer's method statement… at their own cost. This, too, is part of the reason why that unfortunate women's pleas have struck such a deeply resonant chord. To me, they re- flect more than just the primal human fear of dying under the rubble of one's own home. Some- how, they also echo that sense of helplessness and futility that we all find ourselves facing sooner or later… the more-than-justi- fied perception that money liter- ally buys power in this country; and power is used to merciless- ly plough through everything in its path, no matter how many human lives are wrecked in the process. And all along, I can't help but ask myself: does it really have to be that way? Is it so very difficult, to devise a national construction and development policy that re- ally does place the rights of ordi- nary citizens at the core of all its decision-making processes? Oh, wait, I almost forgot. There's the Internet for that sort of thing. Let's see what Google has to say… PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI IT is fitting that I start by wishing Interna- tional Women's Day 2020 to all the wom- en in Malta and Gozo. This year's theme, "I am Generation Equality: Realising Women's Rights", encourages us all to work collectively to challenge stereotypes, implement change, and create a gender-equal world for us all. It is imperative for us to understand that en- suring equality impacts a lot of areas of our everyday lives, and it is absolutely necessary for economies to flourish. Increased partic- ipation of women in the tech sector allows for their full participation in society, and will have a positive effect on business by boosting the economy. The ICT sector is one of the most competi- tive growing industries in Malta, and it is our ambition to ensure that women are as equally represented as men in this important sector. We need to see more girls and women take up their studies in the field and hold key posi- tions within the ICT industry. Indeed, as one of the key pillars of our econ- omy, Malta's digital industry offers a number of opportunities and jobs. However, we still face an ongoing challenge – the digital gender gap – brought about due to the lack of female participation in the ICT sector. European Commission studies show this phenomenon is not prevalent solely in Malta but also in other EU countries. The Commis- sion has even implemented several initiatives to encourage and empower women to play a more active role in the digital age. An EC study in 2018 put forward the following pro- posals in order to increase the participation of women in the digital sector: challenging digital gender stereotypes; promoting digi- tal skills and education; advocating for more women entrepreneurs. In 2016 only 14% of ICT students were fe- male and in 2017; 11% of the overall ICT workforce were women. This increased by 7% in 2018 which sees a steady and promising consistent increase in these percentages since 2013. This pushes us to do more locally, as we are committed to increasing female participa- tion at all levels in the tech sector. Malta promotes and supports the partic- ipation and involvement of women in the digital sector. The eSkills Malta Foundation launched a terrific initiative to support all stakeholders to increase and retain the num- ber of women working in ICT. The guidelines help encourage organisations to partake in the ongoing conversation and look into plans and proposals that will see more women and girls involved in ICT. Last year, through the Malta Communi- cations Authority, Malta became a partner in the Women 4 IT project which aims to provide innovative solutions to increase the number of girls and young women in the digital economy in nine European countries. The Women 4 IT project aims to tackle youth unemployment, the ICT specialist gap in Eu- rope, and the low involvement of women and girls in digital jobs and ICT professions. The project aims to assist 1,000 young wom- en to successfully enter digital job-related employment, whilst raising awareness about the digital gender gap and how to address it. Another commendable initiative is the year- ly iStudent Placement Programme run by the Malta Information technology Agency (MITA) which helps bridge the gap between student and industry. It offers ICT students the opportunity to put their studies, both aca- demic and vocational, to practice, and it gives employers within the ICT industry to invest in students and build a future workforce. The Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) from its part is also committed to address the digital gender gap. MDIA has cre- ated a unique certification programme which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure that the code is a genuine one and that it functions as it should. One of the main criteria which MDIA considers as part of its certification process is that the code is not making any form of negative discrimination. These projects currently underway reflect the government's commitment to address the digital gender gap. I have nothing but praise for these efforts. We are focusing on a mul- ti-pronged approaches to encourage girls to study ICT, upskill the workforce and en- sure women have the right digital skills and competencies, so that ultimately we see more women in senior industry positions. We're steadily getting there but there's still more to be done, and I will personally ensure that the necessary action will be taken in or- der for us to keep moving in the right direc- tion. Clayton Bartolo Closing the digital gender gap Clayon Bartolo is Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services and Digital Economy