Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539444
JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS Only one in four Maltese workers According to a recently published survey, the percentage of Maltese reporting a woman as their immediate ONLY 26% of Maltese workers said they had a woman as their immediate boss. This emerges from a newly published Europe-wide survey by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Liv- ing and Working Conditions, based on face-to-face inter- views with more than 36,000 workers across 35 countries, including 1,000 from Malta. Across the EU 27, 34% of workers reported having a fe- male boss, while 65% reported having a male boss. Only 1% said their boss identified with another gender. The data suggests that gender equality in top management roles has largely stagnated in Europe, with the share of work- ers reporting a female boss ris- ing from 29% in 2010 to 33% in 2015, and remaining largely unchanged since. Similarly, in Malta, the per- centage of workers reporting having a female boss increased from 19% in 2010 to 26% in 2015. Following a spike in 2021, when the figure reached 36%. Since then, the percentage has since fallen back what it was in 2015. It is worth noting that a survey was conducted in 2021 during the pandemic, with telephone interviews replacing the usual face-to-face method. In Malta, 74% of workers re- ported having a male boss, while none reported having a boss who is neither male or female. The countries report- ing the highest share of female bosses were Sweden (51%), Finland (47%), Latvia (46%) and Norway (44%). High work intensity in Malta The survey also explored working conditions. Maltese workers were the most likely in the EU (54%) to say their main job frequently involves work- ing to tight deadlines. Across PERCENTAGE OF MALTESE REPORTING A FEMALE BOSS Malta EU 2011 19 29 2015 26 33 2021 36 35 2024 26 34 WORKPLACE DATA EU % Malta % Have a woman as an immediate boss 34 26 Frequently work to tight deadlines 34 54 Work more than 48 hours a week 12 13 Find it very easy to make ends meet 40 19 Frequently work in painful positions 22 17 Experience discrimination at work 6 8 Always feel enthusiastic at work 27 11 Have attended training paid by employer in past year 48 35 Feel comfortable discussing personal matters with. boss 70 80 Always feel treated fairly at work 49 27 Use cobots 4 1 Can never take a break whenever they like 14 30