Women's employment rate statistically proven to be the lowest in the EU : what are the factors contributing to this data?

Abstract

Women's employment rate in Malta is the lowest in the European Union. The respective target for 2010 is that of 60%. However, when setting the national target for female employment rate, as outlined in the National Action Plan for Employment 2004, this was set to be reached by 2010. In 2004 the rate stood at 32.7%, then moved steadily although with a slow pace to 37.7% at the end of 2009 while EU-27 stood at 58.6% in the same period. This indicates that although the rate of Malta increased during the past years, it still did not reach the locally desired position. Hence, this paper takes a closer look at the factors which are leading to this low participation of women in the labour market and focuses on the main areas which are proved to be keeping the females away from paid work. Besides this, the essay shall also analyse sets of statistics to shed light on the situation experienced in other European countries, together with presenting some of their policies which are contributing to their increasing rate of women in the labour market. This paper focuses on the main barriers which are separating women from paid work. Consequently, it is expected to provide the reader with a wider picture of the current beliefs, traditions and situations of the Maltese women in particular regarding female employment, which identifies the core of this essay.