Malta believes that the Europan Union budget should include measures that address gender inequalities in all spheres, as the EU budget is an excellent tool that has contributed to social and economic development across Europe, the DOI press statement underscores.

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) can also play a crucial role in contributing to achieving this aim. Minister Dalli also reiterated her calls about the need to protect the EU’s cohesion policy, in order to address regional disparities, the DOI press release says.

This was the last in a series of debates on the MFF 2021-2027 held under the Romanian Presidency. The General Affairs Council will then continue discussions with a view of reaching an agreement before the end of 2019, as agreed to by leaders in the December 2018 European Council Conclusions. In this context, Minister Dalli focussed on the need for further progress and compromise, n order to ensure that there are no delays.

In addition, discussions on the Conclusions on Enlargement and Stabilisation and Association Process focused on the European Commission’s positive recommendation for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and The Republic of North Macedonia.

In the absence of an agreement between member states on this matter, Minister Dalli stressed the importance of proceeding on a merits-based approach and sending a strong message to these countries, also as a matter of credibility for the European Union.

Minister Dalli also made reference to the Valletta Declaration adopted last Friday in which the Southern Mediterranean EU member states expressed solidarity with Cyprus in the context of the current challenges with Turkey.

Ms Dalli also highlighted the importance of keeping a channel of communication with Turkey, noting that continued engagement can play a vital role.

The General Affairs Council finalised its preparations for the European Council scheduled for this Thursday and Friday in Brussels, which is expected to focus on institutional appointments, MFF, climate change, and external relations.

The post Minister Dalli vows support for gender equality first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri launched the initiative, which is done through a collaboration with Malta Business Network, with the involvement of stakeholders active in the industry.

Since the lack of female participation in the sector is a challenge across Europe, with this move, Malta is hoping to strengthen its position on a global scale further. Despite comprising 52% of Europe’s population, women only hold 15% of ICT-related jobs in the continent, which figure is even lower for Malta: 2.7%.

“The past few years have seen an unprecedented rise in digital and communications technologies, which, together with the digital economy, have dramatically changed every aspect of life as we know it,” Mr Schembri said. At the same time, the skills and competency levels of ICT professionals have undergone a substantial deficit, which issue the government hopes to remedy through higher female participation in this industry, the parliamentary secretary added.

Mr Schembri also noted that Malta was the first European Union member state who launched a National eSkills Strategy, aspiring to address the need for continuous professional development and upskilling specialisation of the workforce in the sector.

The parliamentary secretary also underscored the importance of making existing initiatives more accessible to young women. “We need to collectively strive to end gender stereotyping and cultural discouragement which negatively affects our young women and their opportunities in the digital labour market,” Mr Schembri concluded.

Efforts to include women to a higher ratio in the IT industry appear to come in time. On the one hand, women have traditionally been discouraged from choosing a career related to engineering or information and communications technology globally. On the other hand, the pay gap has been significant between men and women internationally, favouring men over women in the same positions; an issue that is recently being addressed on a broader scale by companies and legislators.

The post Maltese initiative aims to attract more women to IT jobs first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.