Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/984659
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 documents – such as an ID card or passport – are changed to reflect the holder's gender iden- tity. "In the beginning, I found it very difficult to accept myself. I felt that it was a huge issue which at times was too much to bear." With the help of MGRM's free Rainbow Support Service, Caruana found the courage he needed to accept his situation and work on it. The next biggest challenge was to tell his fam- ily – who were surprisingly all very supportive, especially his niece and nephew. "Gradually, I started opening up to more people and I always found very supportive attitudes," Caruana said. "People are now more likely to ask questions about my transi- tion because they want to know more, they want to understand." Still, job interviews and open- ing up to new colleagues re- mains a challenge for Alex Caruana. "At the back of my mind I still have insecurities based on the fact that the inter- viewer might recognise me and deny me the job… in Malta eve- ryone knows everyone and it is not easy to hide one's past." Indeed, some problems per- sist despite the great leaps of the past few years. Malta might have stopped treating trans identities as medically abnor- mal, but Caruana says it is still the practice of endocrinologists to ask for psychiatric reports before prescribing Hormone Replacement Therapy to pa- tients. "I hope that this won't be the procedure at the Gender Clinic as this goes against Maltese laws and against the principle of self-determination. Chang- ing the attitude of professionals working with trans people is an important issue," Caruana said. Plans are currently underway to introduce free gender reas- signment treatment and to set up a gender clinic to offer a focal point to transgender, intersex and queer persons. Despite the great leap forward, Caruana still meets a lot of young people fac- ing harsh realities, both finan- cially – given that, up to now, all services are against payment – and socially, as one must face problems involving families' and friends' acceptance. "For me, education is the key to ensure that these legal changes are safeguarded in the future… regardless of whoever is in government." jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Despite the great leap forward, young people face harsh financial realities, and the chore of families' and friends' acceptance JAMES DEBONO A European Commission survey has sug- gested the Maltese are very likely to place themselves at the top rungs of social ladder. Over the past decade political parties have increasingly targeted the middle class, ig- noring references to the "working class" which was once courted by both parties in the 1980s. But a recent European Commission survey indicates that this tallies with how the Mal- tese perceive themselves. A third of Maltese in employment (34%) described themselves as 'managers', just one percentage point less than those who describe themselves as man- ual workers (35%). This would make the Maltese the third most likely in Europe after the Swedes (38%) and the Estonians (35%) to describe them- selves as managers. Only 8% in Spain and 9% in Hungary and Greece describe themselves as managers. On average, across the EU 21% describe themselves as managers. Yet it is not exactly clear how a manage- rial job is defined in different countries. For example, only 31% of respondents from the Netherlands described themselves as man- agers but 67% put themselves in the top rungs of the social ladder in contrast to 32% of the Maltese. A relative majority of Maltese (35%) de- scribe their current occupation as "manual" in contrast to 41% of all EU respondents. Only 9% are self-employed compared to 15% in all Europe. The survey shows that manual workers in Malta are outnumbered by people in white- collar jobs who represent 56% of the work- ing population. Significantly 32% of the Maltese place themselves on the top three rungs of the so- cial ladder in contrast to 25% of respondents in all EU member states. 61% place themselves at the 'middle' as do 63% of all Europeans. Only 4% place them- selves in the bottom three rungs, in contrast with 9% of all Europeans. In an indication of a degree of social mobil- ity 9% place their parents in the lowest rungs of the social ladder and 28% place their par- ents in the top rungs. This suggests a 5-point generational de- cline in those who occupy the bottom rungs and a 4-point generational increase in those who occupy the top rungs. Are you sure? 33% of Maltese employees think they are 'managers' The famous 'Class' sketch broadcast in 1966 on the BBC's The Frost Report, featuring John Cleese and Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett