Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545608
I watched the debate between Deborah Schembri and Nickie Vella de Fremeaux regarding the necessity of the gender cor- rective mechanism. Schembri began by highlight- ing two proposed laws by fe- male backbenchers: The right to be forgotten after cancer treatment thus ending discrim- ination; and the right to 12 weeks of paid leave for parents at the Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (NPICU). These are valid laws that bene- fit both men and women. However, she also admitted that she doesn't believe in- creasing the number of women in parliament will necessarily make them more attuned to specific "women's issues". She stated: "I won't be in parlia- ment just for women but for everyone." This admission essentially un- dermines the entire concept of the mechanism. Adding more seats to arti- ficially create a quota hasn't addressed the core challenges women face when pursuing a career in politics. In fact, none of the female MPs in the previous legisla- ture—those elected and those who gained seats with a few hundred votes—took any ac- tion to make attending parlia- ment easier for women juggling multiple responsibilities. This lack of effort prevents many women from contesting elec- tions. To date, I've seen no progress on this issue, which is the root of the problem. Fur- thermore, those who secured seats through the mechanism, particularly those with young children, will soon face a wake- up call as they'll still encounter these challenges. I don't see anyone, man or woman, passionately advocat- ing for parliamentary sessions during normal office hours or any other family-friendly meas- ures. This pressing issue has been widely discussed and, as far back as 2017, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality reported that Malta suffers from a shortage of wom- en candidates willing to contest elections. This shortage stems from various factors, including the lack of family-friendly poli- cies for all stakeholders in pol- itics. This reality affects both male and female MPs with fam- ily responsibilities but is par- ticularly acute for women, who are traditionally seen as the primary carers. It's important to remember that fathers also have a responsibility to actively care for their children and de- serve to enjoy their family life daily. In response to this report, parliament adjusted its meet- ing schedule, starting at 4pm instead of 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While this was a positive step, it doesn't fully address the needs of parents who need to be home with their children for various activities like extracur- riculars, family dinners, home- work help, bath time and bed- time routines. Something has to give At the opening of parliament, I couldn't help but notice the number of young families among the new MPs on our screens. The key difference is that in most cases, the men have supportive spouses at home who handle most of the domestic responsibilities, al- lowing them to focus on their political work. While excep- tions exist, I'd wager a survey would reveal that the major- ity of family duties still fall on women. Furthermore, women tend to be more emotionally supportive of husbands run- ning for office, though this isn't always the case. However, with demanding careers, young fam- ilies, household management and politics, something inevita- bly has to give. During the election campaign, the Momentum party advocat- ed for making parliament a full- time role with professional pay so that MPs could meet during the day. This would also elim- inate potential conflicts of in- terest with their actual profes- sions. Interestingly, I couldn't find any women proposing this. I've also never heard that fe- male MPs from both sides of the House had united to advo- cate for childcare facilities in parliament. Surely that should have been their top priority in the last legislature to encourage other women to become politi- cally active? Back in 2017, then Speak- er Anglu Farrugia mentioned a childcare facility was com- ing "soon". Then in 2022 the Nationalist Opposition pro- posed it again alongside other child-friendly measures and the Speaker said a childcare centre at Beltissebħ would be operational by the end of the year. However, it hasn't ma- terialised yet. It's always sur- prising how quickly other laws are introduced, almost causing whiplash trying to keep up, yet something as crucial as this is consistently shelved. What's the point of adding 12 more women to parliament if they don't advocate for themselves on such matters? While I understand De Fremeaux's concerns about the corrective mechanism being an insult to women, and I speak as someone who has been a self- avowed feminist all my life, I disagree. I see no progress or glory in simply bloating our parliament with another 12 seats to pretend we've achieved some contrived equality. True equality comes when parties are obliged to have an equal number of men and women on their ballot sheets, and then it's up to the electorate to choose the best candidates. It's obvious that the majority of voters don't agree with this mechanism and it's actually had the opposite effect. Rather than gaining more respect, women are now sneered at and belittled be- cause they got in through this back door deal. It's also typi- cal that the PN and PL ensured no other woman from any oth- er party had a chance of using this corrective mechanism. They can talk all they want, but if they really wanted to, they could have found a way to in- clude third parties. Lowering standards I also disagree that we "low- ered any barriers" and that's why more women contested this time. Instead, we lowered the standards. Any woman contesting knew she had a good chance of getting into parlia- ment even without knocking on a single door and people barely knew her. This actually happened in several instances. Marlene Mizzi rightly point- ed out that out of the 12 who were given a seat in the last legislature, three of those who weren't voted in this time were once again given a seat they didn't earn. How many times will the same woman be given a seat this way? With this mech- anism, as she rightly said, the voice of the people has been tainted and women are reduced to mere numbers just to tick boxes. We're also encouraging the idea that women don't have to try too hard, similar to the current mentality that every- one gets a medal in a sports competition, no matter what. Schembri argued that the mechanism led to more wom- en being elected on their own merits, which is debatable. It's clear that having more women on the ballot increases choice and that is where the focus should be. Sandra Gauci made very valid points about what holds women back, particularly the responsi- bility of raising young children. She reiterated her commitment to fighting the injustice of the gender mechanism favouring the two main parties because third parties aren't on an equal footing. During the debate, the causal elections or by-elections were also discussed. This is another aspect of our electoral system that needs reform. Contesting in two districts should be abol- ished. This change would also encourage more women to run and eliminate the political ma- noeuvring over which district is "given up" based on party strat- egy. For example, at least 15 seats were contested in these casual elections, adding unnec- essary work and prolonging the process. Furthermore, we should elim- inate the district system alto- gether and consolidate Malta into a single voting district. This would ensure that elected MPs truly represent the elec- torate's will. Many politicians I would have liked to vote for simply weren't on my district, which feels unfair. This system would also dismantle the pa- tronage culture, promising fa- vours in exchange for votes and party infighting. We should thoroughly examine our elec- toral system to determine if it is effectively electing the right people based on their abilities and their commitment to serv- ing the country. 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JUNE 2026 OPINION Josanne Cassar She has worked in the field of communications and journalism for the last 30 years Even with the gender mechanism, real barriers for women in politics will persist The new House of the 15 Parliament is made up of 42 Labour seats and 37 Nationalist seats, after Labour won a fourth consecutive general election under Robert Abela (Photo: DOI)