Women in official positions in Malta lag behind EU28 average

The number of women holding official positions has been on the rise; still, Maltese figures lag behind the EU28 average, according to data the Maltese National Statistics Office (NSO) published on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Men in managerial positions in 2017 also outnumbered women.

Despite a growing percentage of women holding seats in the Maltese Parliament rising over the past years, female parliamentary representation still falls short of the EU28 average, the NSO says. “Women currently hold 14.5% of the seats in Parliament, half the EU28 average of 29 seats,” the NSO report says.

In 2017, women accounted for 21.9% of all local council representation. Out of a total of 69 mayors, only 13 were women. Deputy mayors totalled 68, of whom 12 were women, while of 319 councillors, only 75 were women, NSO statistics reveal.

Public sector-wise, women were mostly employed as service and sales workers, in 2017. Women in managerial positions accounted for 7.4% of the total female workforce, according to NSO figures. “Of the highly-educated female component of the workforce, only 13.4% held managerial roles, compared to 25.1% of their male counterparts,” the NSO says.

As at the end of December 2017, the female population in Malta and Gozo stood at 235,102 making up 49.4% of the total population, NSO figures show.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.