Main objective

“modernize current EU legal and policy framework and adapt it to today’s labour market to allow for parents with children or workers with dependent relative to better balance caring and professional responsibilities”

Activity rates by sex and age group, NSO Q3 2015 EU employment target by 2020: 75% employment

Malta’s employment target by 2020: 70% employment

Age group Males % Females % Total %

15-24 54.4 53.2 53.8

25-54 95.9 67.1 81.9

55-6 63.4 24.6 43.9

15-64 81.6 55.6 68.9

With children men work more, women work less

Women are more likely to work part-time

Women concentrated in middle paying jobs Table 9. Average annual basic salary* for employees by sex and economic activity: July-September 2015

Economic activity

Males Females Total

No. of

employees

Average

(€)

No. of

employees

Average

(€)

No. of

employees

Average

(€)

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 1,091u 15,427u : : 1,191u 15,047u

Manufacturing, mining and quarrying and other industry 16,885 16,136 5,265 14,399 22,150 15,723

Construction 8,151 15,150 : : 8,581 15,100

Wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage,

accommodation and food service activities 25,297 14,966 15,901 11,739 41,198 13,721

Information and communication 4,362 26,203 1,762u 13,962u 6,124 22,681

Financial and insurance activities 4,509 25,164 4,383 19,821 8,892 22,530

Real estate activities : : : : : :

Professional, scientific, technical, administration and support service

activities 8,787 18,817 6,790 15,748 15,577 17,479

Public administration, defence, education, human health and

social work activities 22,865 19,278 29,844 16,516 52,709 17,714

Other services 3,013 19,793 3,737 12,920 6,750 15,988

Total 95,228 17,743 68,379 15,090 163,607 16,634

: Data not published due to unreliable survey estimates as a result of less than 20 reporting units.

u Figures to be used with caution since they are derived from a number of readings ranging between 20 and 49.

* Amount given is prior to tax and social contribution deductions.

Face gender pay gap in all occupations and sectors Table 13. Average annual basic salary* for employees by sex and main occupation: July-September 2015

Occupational group

Males Females Total

No. Average

(€) No.

Average

(€) No.

Average

(€)

Armed Forces 2,400u 16,416u : : 2,541u 16,527u

Managers 9,290 30,732 3,793 26,744 13,083 29,576

Professionals 12,592 25,599 15,336 20,306 27,928 22,692

Technicians and

associate professionals 15,151 17,899 11,169 17,130 26,320 17,572

Clerical support workers 9,933 15,388 10,586 12,576 20,519 13,938

Service and sales workers 13,931 13,817 18,843 10,899 32,774 12,139

Skilled agricultural, forestry and

fishery workers : : : : : :

Craft and related trades

workers 11,242 14,171 : : 11,695 14,231

Plant and machine operators,

and assemblers 7,914 14,521 2,725u 12,009

u 10,639 13,877

Elementary occupations 11,939 11,770 5,333 8,757 17,272 10,840

Total 95,228 17,743 68,379 15,090 163,607 16,634

* Amount given is prior to tax and social contribution deductions.

: Data not published due to unreliable survey estimates as a result of less than 20 reporting units.

u Figures to be used with caution since they are derived from a number of readings ranging between 20 and 49.

Conclusion - People with caring responsibilities

• participate less in labour market,

• work part-time

• have lower wages

• work in less prestigious occupations

• with housework work longer hours (Senik, 2015)

• Have a higher level of time stress and overload

• Have lower level of emotional wellbeing – more subject to depression, and a lower level of happiness than men (Senik, 2015)

Emotional well-being

• Women have multiple role identities role conflict and role overload

• Women are therefore less satisfied with their relationships and more likely to break up their marriage (Senik, 2015: 30)

• This dissatisfaction is reduced when partners take a larger share in domestic chores.

Family friendly measures What do we have? Who utilizes these measures?

Take up of family friendly measures 2012-2014 in public sector

Family friendly measuresInc Utilisation 2012 Utilisation 2013 Utilisation 2014 Increase

Maternity leave 558 443 600

Adoption leave 6 8 4

Responsibility leave 35 33 33

Parental leave 496 377 486 -

Career break 225 281 260 +

Leave to accompany spouse 6 3 4

Reduced hours 1275 998 1316 +

Teleworking 643 805 872 +

Flexible Work Schedules 493 895 933 +

Total 3737 3843 4508

Maternity leave additional weeks 353 247 431

88.13% of FFMs used by women in 2014

Percentage of beneficiaries per Salary Scale 2014

Possible policy interventions

Leave and employment-related policies to support carers - What we need to focus on

• Maternity and special maternity leave (incl. self-employed)

• Adoption leave (18 weeks)

• Paternity leave (2 days in public sector)

• Parental leave (1 year in public sector)

• Childcare leave or career breaks (public sector - unpaid)

• Responsibility leave (Public sector – unpaid)

• Flexi-time (insufficient flexible work arrangement) (EC 2015)

• Reduced hours

• Tele-working

• 16 hours emergency leave (public service)

• Breastfeeding facilities??

Fathers are less likely to stop working when they have children

• Extend fathers’ leave?

• Provide shared paid parental leave - part can be taken when mother is on maternity leave, rest after, until the child turns 2 (UK, Finland)

• This parental leave includes wage replacement, or flat rate allowance

Single parents

• More vulnerable to the challenges of work family life reconciliation

• 2-parent household stagger work hours

• Higher proportion of single parent households are female

• Single mothers more likely to work fulltime when there are flexible work policies

Render work attractive

• Income received from employment not sufficient for those with lower educational qualifications – in-work poverty

• Provide adequate incomes

Policy interventions

• Providing access to affordable, quality, accessible childcare facilities – 24/7

• Offer flexible working hours

• Increase paternity / parental leave

• Cash benefits paid during maternity/paternity leave

Government

Private companies

Social partners

Provide more focused financial incentives

• Single parents or second earners more responsive to financial incentives

• Women with medium-to high skills occupations are more likely to remain in labour market

• Remove disincentives to work • e.g. joint taxation and/or tax deduction

for economically dependent spouse;

• single vs married rates where social benefits are concerned?

Institutions shape people’s preferences and expectations where gender roles are concerned (Senik, 2015)

Challenge institutional cultural norms regarding

• Parental roles

• Culture of long working hours

• Work time schedule (e.g. 8 to 5)

• The male as the main or sole provider

Provide flexible working hours

• Variable working hours, work time banking or compressed work weeks

• Give workers greater autonomy and more control over their working times e.g. varying the start and/or end of working day

• Leads to less work-family conflict, greater female labour force participation, higher fertility, greater well-being of workers, less burnout, better health behaviours

• Positive outcomes for organisations: less sick leave, greater commitment to employer, less turnover, reduced costs due to fewer missed deadlines (Lyness et al., 2012)

Malta at lower end of family related work schedule flexibility

• Free Childcare

• Breakfast club scheme

• Klabb 3-16

Infrastructure we already have

Fiscal incentives

• Tax deduction for parents who use childcare services

• Parent computation tax

• Tapering of social benefits for unemployed single parents

• Special Fund to cover cost of maternity leave payable by the employer

• Tax exemptions for inactive women joining the labour market

• Tax deduction to employers to encourage them to hire unemployed persons 45+

• Fiscal incentives for employers employing disabled persons

• In-work benefit scheme for low income parent/s with dependent children who are working or willing to work

• Tax deduction for parent/s with children under 23 in tertiary education

• Provision of a full pension to employed widows

• Tax incentives for enterprises to recruit and train older workers

We

alr

ead

y h

ave

….

Measures required for workers with other dependents – elderly and people with disabilities (EC, 2015: 33)

• Activity rates particularly low for women over 40 years

• Women are constrained when there is lack of formal care arrangements and long-term community based care

• Explains why • Maltese women have shortest employment careers at EU level

• Tendency to work in part-time and reduced hours

• interrupted careers to care for others leads to gaps in NI contributions

• Leads to no pensions - in 2013 non-coverage in pensions between women and men in Malta was 36.5 % (EC 2015 country report)

Social Effects • Share of persons at risk of

poverty and social exclusion increased between 2008-2013 in Malta despite the favourable economic set up (EC, 2015: 28)

• Girls do better in school than boys, but breadwinner is still assumed to be male – effects family income

• Fertility decision making – lower birth rate

Malta fertility rates 1977-2013

Couple level

Participation in employment and family roles

• collide and cause tensions

Separation, divorce and annulment rates 2007-2012

Non-legislative measures

1. Develop 1. benchmarks along the model of the Youth Guarantee 2. strengthen child and other dependent persons care infrastructure

availability, accessibility and quality, 3. incentives and disincentives in tax and benefit systems

2. Regular monitoring and reporting on the implementation of framework

3. Use EU financial tools: ESF

4. Engage in and facilitate a structured dialogue with social partners and other actors linked with labour market

5. Engage in awareness raising campaign

Thank you for your attention

josann.cutajar@um.edu.mt

Bibliography

• Borg, F. (2015) Female participation in the labour market. ETC

• Camilleri-Cassar, F. (2015). Malta http://www.leavenetwork.org/fileadmin/Leavenetwork/Country_notes/2015/malta3.final.pmfc.pdf

• Eurofound (2015) Families in the economic crisis: changes in policy measures in the EU

• EC Justice and Consumers (2014) Men, women and pensions

• EC (2014) Gender equality in the workforce: reconciling work, private and family life in Europe

• EC (2015). Commission staff working document. Country Report Malta 2015 {Com(2015) 85 final}

• EC (2016) New start to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working families

• Govt of Malta Public Administration HR Office (2015) 2014 Family friendly measures report

• Govt of Malta Public Administration HR Office (2014) 2013 Family friendly measures report

• NSO (2016, 11 Feb) Gainfully occupied population: August 2015

• NSO (2015, 29 Dec) LFS: Q3/2015

• NSO (2015) Demographic Review 2005-2012

• EC (2014, March) Boosting equality between women and men in the EU. Keap actions and figures

• Ministry for Finance (2015, April) Malta National Reform Programme.

• Senik, C (2015) Gender gaps in subjective wellbeing