Planning for women or women for planning

Abstract

In a recent local seminar on women, it was remarked that the time had come to draw up a scheme for development earmarked for a male-only residential population. So thinly represented are women in Malta, it was argued, that such a development would be nicely reflective of the society we live in. Fatalistic though this may sound, it is nonetheless rooted in some truth. With just one women in parliament (1.5%), women are not exactly thick on the decision making ground in Malta. Of the 1,795 appointed persons on Government boards, only 148 are women, and participation has remained stuck at some 7 - 8 % for the past four years. Only 13% of the local councillors are women, of whom 3 are mayors and 2 vice-mayors, a result which was achieved after much painstaking encouragement by the Commission for the Advancement of Women.