Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1511356
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 NOVEMBER 2023 NEWS THE trends are clear – wom- en outnumber men at diploma, bachelor's and master's level. But the numbers turn on their head when women reach doc- toral level, where men suddenly outnumber women. Figures published by the Na- tional Statistics Office (NSO) last week back this up. Almost 67% of students enrolled in diplomas are women. At bachelor's level, men make up 44% of the univer- sity cohort, while 56% of enrolled students are women. At a further master's level, women make up almost 60% of enrolled students. Yet at doctoral level, almost 56% of students are men. This isn't a recent phenome- non. Prof. JosAnn Cutajar, who chairs the University of Malta's gender equality and sexual diver- sity committee, says this trend is visible in data going back to 2014. "Looking at University of Malta data, found in the annual reports from 2014 to date, male PhD can- didates always surpassed females. Female students surpass males at Undergraduate and Masters level. When it comes to PhD stu- dents, male students tend to sur- pass female students, although the gap between the two genders has started to decrease in recent years." Recent data from 2020 onwards also showed that female PhD candidates go for part-time op- tions, rather than full-time. "This is probably because they are more likely to be working and studying at the same time," Cutajar said. Age is a major contributing fac- tor to why the doctoral degrees are so male-saturated. Cuta- jar said that most of those who choose to study for a PhD on a full-time basis tend to be un- der 31 years of age. "The bulk of the female PhD candidates were registered before and after the average childbearing age which, according to NSO, is 30 years. Part-time female PhD candidates tend to be older than their male cohorts when they register." Societal expectations But societal expectations and pressures can be a contributing factor too. Cutajar referred to a survey conducted for NCPE, which suggested that female uni- versity residents tend to perceive themselves as the primary carers of children and the elderly. "This view might emanate from the way policies are worded (see for example parental leave) and insti- tutional sexism when it comes to designing and enabling employ- ees to access work life balance measures." Renee Laiviera, NCPE com- missioner, also said that doctoral studies are usually taken up at the last stage of the educational lad- der, at which point students, men and women, may have family re- sponsibilities and work. "Yet, tra- ditional gender role expectations are still prevalent in relation to core responsibilities, which are considered as a woman's task." Laiviera referred to the Gen- der Equality Index 2023, which shows that women in Malta are more likely to care for their chil- dren and to do housework than men, and less likely to engage in leisure activities. "This gender gap in the use of time can limit the participation of women in ac- tivities such as education. Hence due to biases in societal expecta- tions on the roles of women and men, it is much more difficult for women to find time for doctoral studies which entail allocation of considerable amount of study." Indeed, Cutajar said that more needs to be done to enable work- ers and students juggle with work, study and life in general. "This might mean providing free childcare facilities on site, as the University of Malta does. At the same time, PhD candidates need to access laboratories and IT at all times of the day. Those who do not have any help when it comes to taking care of depend- ants might find it more difficult to carry on with their research." 'Something had to give' Nadia Abdilla, an equity coordi- nator at the University of Malta, pointed out that part-time studies take a long time to complete, and life circumstances may interfere with the process. "One such ex- ample is a female PhD candidate who had already completed her upgrade by her early 30s. During this journey she had a baby and re- turned to full-time employment. This meant that she had to change from full- time to part-time re- search and when the baby was due, she even decided to request a suspension of studies. Coping with a newborn baby and full- time work did not fit with doctor- al research, even though she had a solid support structure. Although the student looks forward to re- suming her studies, she felt that something had to give. This is not a solitary case." Laiviera also said it was hard for her to continue with her studies while balancing her work and family life. "This is not only my experience. It is the experience of most women who continuously discuss their difficulties, both on- line and offline, in reaching their full potential." Bridging the gap There are solutions to balancing out the gap. Cutajar said knowing who is applying and obtaining postgraduate scholarships on a gender basis is a crucial aspect to this. "Scholarships to cover tuition and bench fees will help. In these contexts, PhD students are provided with financial sup- port. This supports students who might be paying a mortgage, those who are breadwinners or those l need some type of finan- cial assistance." And while promoting women's access to education and employ- ment is important, there are so- cioeconomic measures that need to be taken. "The burden of un- paid work undertaken in the pri- vate sphere needs to be shared between carers and supported by the state, institutions and the private sector. Policy mak- ers and institutions need to take into consideration that student researchers tend to be not only workers but also carers. As a re- sult, generous and coordinated statutory work- study and fam- ily policy schemes can be made available in both the private and public sectors," Cutajar said. Laiviera emphasised the need to promote work-life balance meas- ures to help women continue with their studies, adding that remote working at higher levels could help create more opportunities for studies and career progres- sion. "Although family-friendly measures are available to women and men, women are more likely to utilise such measures to rec- oncile their work and family life. Hence, work-life balance meas- ures in the private sphere need to be strengthened whilst men need to be encouraged to take up such measures if women are to enjoy equal opportunities with men to study at doctoral level." Women outnumber men at university... until they reach doctoral level Women outnumber men in tertiary education courses, but the balance suddenly shifts at doctoral level, according to figures published by the National Statistics Office. NICOLE MEILAK tries to find out why by speaking to experts From left: Renee Laiviera, Josann Cutajar and Nadia Abdilla