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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 FEBRUARY 2021 Gender equality still elusive (even this Valentine's Day) Editorial TODAY is St Valentine's Day: traditionally, a festivi- ty where 'lovers express their affection for each other with greetings and gifts'. Like most annual commemorative festivities – Christ- mas, Easter, etc. – Valentine's Day can trace its origins to pagan rites and rituals: specifically, to a Roman fertility festival known as the Lupercalia, held in mid-February. Also like other traditional feasts, it has been somewhat commercialised over the centuries. Today, Valentine's Day is also an annual occasion eagerly anticipated by restaurateurs, florists and gift/card shops alike; and as such, it is just as susceptible to the ebb and flow of the national economy. From this perspective, the festivity is almost certain to feel the pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic this year. Af- ter all, the social distancing measures currently in place seem to fly directly in the face of the intimacy we nor- mally associate with 'romance'. But the pandemic has affected more than just the abil- ity to commemorate this traditional feast: it has also exposed certain deep-seated inequalities that still exist between men and women in Malta today. It is, of course, a coincidence; but this week, the Na- tional Commission for the Promotion of Equality re- leased a survey (originally carried out in June and July) examining the male/female distribution of work within households over the preceding months. The survey asked respondents about the increase/ decrease in time spent on different tasks – paid work, housework, caring for children, home-schooling for children, etc. – as a result of COVID-19. It also inquired about the respondents' perception of equality in the sharing of responsibilities during the pandemic. The findings indicate that, during the pandemic, the increase in the number of hours spent doing household tasks and childcare increased significantly more for women than for men; while the time spent on leisure, personal care and sleep decreased more for women than it did for men. This appears to confirm that the existing gender in- equality, in the distribution of unpaid household and caring responsibilities, was exacerbated as a result of the pandemic. Specifically, 58.4% of female respondents stated that the hours spent on housework increased during the pandemic, when compared to 55.2% of men. Female respondents also reported a higher overall in- crease (63%) when it comes to caring for children, in comparison to male respondents (60.7%). Moreover, double the number of female respondents reported an increase in the category "Increased by 13 hours or more". The survey also exposed a substantial 16% gap between female and male respondents reporting an increase in the time spent on home-schooling – 80.2% for females and 64.2% for males. Female respondents were furthermore likelier to re- port an increase in the hours spent caring for dependent adults during the pandemic – 54.7% in comparison to 44% of males. Moreover, 43.8% of female respondents with children of 15 years or younger – compared to 39.3% of male re- spondents – reported a decrease in sleeping hours. Admittedly, these findings reflect gender stereotypes that are arguably just as old - if not much older – than the feast of St Valentine's itself. But this, in turn, also forces us to confront how very antiquated our cultural preconceptions really are: even today, in the 21st cen- tury. By the same token, it also raises questions about what can be done to address this gargantuan mismatch in gender roles. How can such a deeply ingrained cultural mindset, forged over millennia, be eradicated through simple policy changes? It would, naturally, be unrealistic to expect any in- stant results: nonetheless, there are many initiatives that could be taken to restore some much-needed balance. The NCPE itself has called for paid paternity and pa- rental leave on "a use-it-or-lose-it basis", to be intro- duced in order to incentivise men to take on more child caring responsibilities. The commission also called for paid parental leave for both women and men, arguing that: "The cost of this measure would be offset by a de- crease in the expenditure on childcare services since these services, especially for very small children, are substantially costly." Another mitigating measure would be to expand childcare support for working parents, particularly when schools, childcare and respite care services are closed or limited due to COVID-19. These, and other measures, would go some distance towards closing the existing gender gap. But – as the NCPE also notes – "both policy measures and behav- ioural changes are necessary to tackle the deep roots of gender inequality". It is, of course, up to the government to come up with 'policy measures'. As for the 'behavioural changes' part, however… than can only come from ourselves. 13 February 2011 Gonzi will vote against divorce bill, 'hopes people will vote in referendum' PRIME Minister Lawrence Gonzi has stated he hopes the people will have the opportu- nity to vote in a referendum on divorce, but declared he will be voting against the bill presented by backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. He refuted claims of adopting a contradic- tory stance when questioned by MaltaToday during a press conference on Saturday. "I did not go into politics to submit to pressure. If this is what I believe in, I have a duty to see it through. At the same time we need to respect the principle of democracy." The PN executive committee earlier ap- proved a motion to give MPs a free vote on a divorce bill after a four-hour meeting that de- livered a definite stand against divorce. Deputy prime minister Tonio Borg also declared he would vote against the bill. During the press conference, Gonzi defend- ed the PN's stance against the introduction of divorce in Malta by saying that this would not be "in the common good" and that it would "create more problems than it would solve." He said the PN's position is based "not on emotion, but on a factual and contemporary analysis of the current situation of the family in Malta," and added that the PN could not agree to legislate "in favour of exceptions or one-off cases." In this decision, Gonzi maintained howev- er, both the PN and the party executive were "sensitive to the hardship faced by those un- dergoing marital break-up," and added that the PN is both aware and concerned of the way the rate of marital break-ups is on the rise. Measures to address this trend are, he said however, "a different discussion entirely." He said that once the Private Members Bill was presented to Parliament, the government had the moral responsibility to tackle it and not "leave it on the shelf," Gonzi said. In this regard, Gonzi reiterated how the PN's position remains that the party is against the introduction of divorce, but that govern- ment MPs would enjoy a free vote during on the bill. "All MPs should feel comfortable in being able to vote freely and openly," he said. ... Quote of the Week "The time has come for us to ask about which causes we must unite over... I insist that we must be united on certain issues." President George Vella upon unveiling a new national conference on national unity MaltaToday 10 years ago