The gender pay gap in Malta

Abstract

Malta stands out as one of the countries in the European Union with the lowest percentage of women working. This is as a result of the long-standing role women have tended to occupy in society, primarily as homemakers, whilst males have been considered as the main breadwinners. To a certain extent this is still the case in the majority of households today, particularly in the older generations. Younger couples are more likely to be both working, not only because of the need of the woman to reach her potential (particularly in the case of professionals) but also because the demands of today’s society and the expectations raised by modern life, require more than one salary to sustain the needs of a family. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of women in employment. However, it has also led to slow increases in the gender pay gap, where it stood at 7.8% in 2007 and rose to 11% by 2016. Malta is below the EU-28 average of 16.2%, but the fact that the gender pay gap is increasing implies that action needs to be taken to ensure that males and females have the same opportunities in the economy, and that women and men are treated equally in the labour market.