The role of the professional woman in Malta

Abstract

If Malta can still be described as a matriarchal society, it very quickly becomes a man's world when a woman steps away from the family hearth to find herself a job. For many reasons, Malta is not socially structured to accommodate the independent working woman, except in certain areas of employment; and if things are changing slowly, she still has today very little chance of fair job competition. A comparatively "poor" country, Malta inevitably suffers unemployment at some level. It is therefore understandable that job priority must go to the breadwinners of the family. At a glance, it becomes dear that the woman least likely to be found in employment is the married woman with a family. As this is a complete reversal of the situation found abroad, where married women in many countries form the largest percentage of all working women, it may be significant to examine the reasons for this first of all. [excerpt]