Participation of Women in the Public Service (MT0008)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Malta, Second Action Plan, 2015-2017
Action Plan Cycle: 2015
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity
Support Institution(s): Office of the Prime Minister; Ministry for Education and Employment; Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties
Policy Areas
Capacity Building, Gender, Inclusion, Labor, Private SectorIRM Review
IRM Report: Malta End-of-Term Report 2015-2017, Malta Mid-Term Progress Report 2015-2017
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: No
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
The overall objective is to increase the participation of women in the public service by focusing on more family friendly measures and work life balance initiatives.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
Commitment 1. Participation of women in the public service
Commitment Text:
The overall objective is to increase the participation of women in the public service by focusing on more family friendly measures and work life balance initiatives.
Milestones:
Wider availability of family-friendly measures (such as tele-working, reduced hours, job sharing, compressed working week and flexible work schedules).
Set up childcare centre/s in those area/s where there is high concentration of public service and public sector offices thus facilitating access between working mothers and their children example, in Valletta.
Intensify/redesign training in strategic leadership skills to empower women to take up challenging and decision making positions within the public service/public sector but also helps them devise better balance between their work demands and family responsibilities.
Responsible Institution(s): Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity
Supporting Institution(s): Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry for Education and Employment, Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties
Start Date: 1 January 2015 End Date: 31 December 2017
Commitment Aim:
This commitment targets the low level of female participation in public service by tackling challenges faced by women in balancing their working and family lives. On the basis of this commitment, Malta aimed to introduce measures addressing childcare options and working hours, and also the technical capacity of women to hold senior positions within the public service.
Status
Midterm: Limited
This commitment was limited in completion by the midterm assessment. The IRM researcher was unable to secure information in relation to the introduction of family-friendly measures, and in relation to the organisation of strategic leadership courses specifically targeting women.[Note10: Malta Progress Report 2015-2017, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Malta_Progress_2015-2017.pdf ] In the midterm report the researcher noted that the number of childcare centres opened or operational in areas with a high concentration of public entities was limited to two of 108 registered centres.
End-of-term: Limited
Apart from an online manual[Note11: The report was updated on December 2017, https://publicservice.gov.mt/en/Documents/Public%20Service%20Management%20Code/PSMC%20Manuals/Manual_on_Work-Life_Balance_Measures.pdf ] on work-life balance measures for public sector employees in Malta, there is no publicly available evidence that shows that new family-friendly measures were adopted during this action plan cycle. According to the self-assessment report, 108 childcare centres are currently active and registered with the Ministry for Education and Employment. Since the progress report, no new childcare centres were opened, as evidenced in the online registry updated on September 2017.[Note12: Maltese Government website, Free Childcare Scheme, https://education.gov.mt/en/Pages/Free-Childcare.aspx] Also, according to the information provided by the government point of contact, no strategic leadership courses were specifically designed or implemented for women, apart from the Mentoring Program which was conceived prior to the implementation of this commitment.[Note13: In 2015, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) launched a mentoring programme funded by the European Social Fund. This programme is mentioned in the self-assessment government report. ]
Moreover, the Association for Gender Equality expressed, in a newspaper article in March 2018, that family-friendly measures reports, which were issued until 2014, were halted by the government and that 'women issues are not a priority for the government'.[Note14: The Malta Independent, http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2018-03-08/local-news/Women-s-issues-are-not-a-priority-for-government-Association-for-Gender-Equality-6736185891] The IRM researcher could not verify this information as none of the CSOs contacted answered the queries regarding this commitment.[Note15: The IRM researcher contacted the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO), the Anti-Poverty Forum and the Malta Federation of Professional Associations by email and phone call at the end of April and the beginning of May 2018. In particular, a representative of the MCWO expressed to the IRM staff that although she had received the enquiries via email she could neither answer, nor schedule a call, due to the lack of time and resources of the organisation.]
Did It Open Government?
Did Not Change
The progress report noted the unclear relevance of this commitment to OGP values as it did not clearly advance access to information, citizen participation or public accountability. The IRM researcher reached out to the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations (MCWO), the Anti-Poverty Forum, and the Malta Federation of Professional Associations to inquire about any changes resulting from this commitment, but received no response.
The opening of childcare centres was noted at the midterm, but there is no evidence pointing to changes in government practice towards advancing female participation in public service or government decision making at large.
Carried Forward?
At the time of writing this report, the government of Malta had not published the draft of the third national action plan. The researcher does not recommend carrying this commitment forward as it has unclear relevance to OGP values.