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The National Council of Women Annual General Meeting “Towards a regeneration for the Future”
NCW Malta Annual General Meeting 2021 was held at The Palace Hotel Sliema on Thursday 22 July 2021 In her opening address, outgoing NCW President, Mary Gaerty, called on the Assembly to join her in a prayer for past members of NCW, for those who lost their life due to the Covid-19 and for the women whose lives were taken away due to femicide, which saw an increase during Covid-19.
Elimination of Violence against Women - 16 Days of Activism
Elimination of violence against women – 16 Days of Activism. You too can do something about it! The 25th of November is the kick off date for the annual international campaign of 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence. It starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and runs till the 10th of December, Human Rights Day .
Human dignity should be respected at all times.
The National Council of Women would like to express its concern about the video posted online portraying men pelting a woman with eggs during a stag party. Human dignity should be respected at all times. As a society, we should condemn any type of abuse even if this is done by consent for financial gain.
OSCE/ODIHR anti-trafficking survey for survivors of trafficking in human beings
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has received numerous responses and has decided to extend the submission due date for the survey of survivors of human trafficking to Monday 26 August 2019.
NEW TASK FORCE AT EUROPOL TO TARGET THE MOST DANGEROUS CRIMINAL GROUPS INVOLVED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING
On 2 July, the Joint Liaison Task Force Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings (JLT-MS) was launched at Europol. This new operational platform will allow liaison officers from all EU Member States to step up the fight against constantly adapting criminal networks.
Malta is EU country with highest rate of tertiary education graduates in employment
A report in the Independent states that Malta stood above the EU average in 2018 when it came to the employment rate of graduates aged 20-34 who had attained a tertiary level education within the previous three years,
European Commission
On 2 July 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council to the position of President of the European Commission; she will be the first women and the first German since Walter Hallstein
Equal opportunities and access to the labour market
1. Education, training and life-long learning Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market. 2. Gender equality Equality of treatment and opportunities between women and men must be ensured and fostered in all areas, including regarding participation in the labour market, terms and conditions of employment and career progression. Women and men have the right to equal pay for work of equal value.
The gender pay gap in the EU and the European Pillar of #SocialRights
1. The gender pay gap in the EU is 16.2%, that’s 16.2% higher than it should be! Gender equality is the second key principle of the European Pillar of #SocialRights for a reason 2. The European Pillar of #SocialRights supports the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding employment, social protection, education, and access to goods and services available to the public. Something NCW Malta has supported since its creation!
Gender Equality in the Media Sector
This study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. It examines key elements of the European policy agenda pertaining to gender equality in the media sector. It also reviews existing research on women's representation within media content and the media workforce. The study provides analysis of actions to promote gender equality in the media at both EU and Member State levels. Finally, it presents case studies of gender equality in the media sector in four Member States: Austria, Malta, Sweden, and the UK.
Empowering women and girls in media and ICT
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality is holding an inter-parliamentary committee meeting on empowering women and girls in media and ICT. The meeting, which will bring together EU institutional representatives, members of EU national parliaments, experts and stakeholders, will take place on 08 March 2018. The presentation and debates will deal with the topics of women shaping media, empowering women and girls through digital inclusion and women’s movements and advancing equality in the digital age.
Digital healthcare / health insurance
In the view of the EESC, given the digital revolution in the field of health, it is vital to maintain and promote a health insurance system which serves the needs of everyone, and is solidarity-based, inclusive and non-discriminatory. Inclusion and fair access for all to good quality health services (digital or otherwise) and commitment to these are in fact prerequisites for universal health coverage.
Gender equality in European labour markets
In order to improve gender equality in labour markets, the EESC considers it necessary to draw up an integrated and ambitious European strategy to tackle systemic and structural obstacles and lead to adequate policies, measures and EU funding programmes for improving equality between women and men, thus fostering "more equal economic independence of women and men" . This would also contribute to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Services to the family
Developing services in private homes in order to achieve a better work-life balance Every family has a home and clothes to maintain, meals to prepare, children to care for, elderly parents or ill or disabled family members who need help. Women often have to work part-time in order to carry out these tasks, missing out on the career for which they have trained or on time they would use for training.
Women and girls digital gender gap
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, attempts to reveal the links between the different factors (access, skills, socio-economic and cultural), which prevent women from having equal access to digital technology. It then suggests ways of dealing with online and offline inequalities to the effect of closing the digital gender gap and improving women’s and girls’ digital inclusion and future technology-related career paths.
Plastics, human health and environmental impacts: The road ahead
Plastics have been with us for more than a century, and by now they’re everywhere, for good and for ill. Plastic containers and coatings help keep food fresh, but they can also leave behind neurotoxins such as BPA in the human body. PVC is used for everything from pipes and flooring to furniture and clothes, but it contains compounds called phthalates that have been implicated in male reproductive disorders. Studies have also shown that childhood exposure to environmental pollutants can have significant negative effects later in life, including reduced labor force participation and even earnings.
European Commission aims to significantly reduce the gender pay gap
The European Commission plans to use a series of measures aimed at significantly reducing the pay gap between men and women over the next five years. The average gender pay gap in the EU currently stands at 18%. To lower this rate, the Commission plans to raise awareness among employers, encourage initiatives to promote gender equality and support the development of tools to measure the gender pay gap.
NCW Annual General Meeting 2019
NCW Annual General Meeting 2019 The Annual General Meeting of the National Council of Women was held on Saturday 26th January 2019, at The Victoria Hotel, Sliema. President Mary Gaerty spoke about the work which the Council has embarked on during 2018. This included pensions, education, violence against women, work and entrepreneurship, work life balance and the challenges faced by women on a daily basis. She also highlighted the fact that the National Council of Women is looking ahead at the constant changes
Work-life Balance
Better work-life balance for EU citizens: Presidency reaches provisional agreement with the European Parliament
The National Council of Women supports the Act to provide protection for human embryos
NCW has always advocated for legislation of alternative IVF treatment not least because of the sensitivity and the consequences for both parents and society if it had to remain unregulated. NCW believes that IVF treatment should be for heterosexuals within a stable family environment The Council has always supported the protection of embryos as the first cell of a human life and, with the development of alternative treatment over the past years this has become possible successfully.
Women on Boards: Vice-President Viviane Reding meets with leaders of Europe's business schools and i
Today, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding met with European Industry Associations, European Business Schools and Senior Executive Women to discuss progress being made on improving the gender balance in company boardrooms.
UfM adopts new project to support women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean
A project aimed at developing women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean through the development of effective field projects and the setting up of networks and platforms, was adopted by Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) at a meeting held last month.

National Council of Women

Annual General Meeting 22 January 2011

President’s Address

Dear Members of NCW, Colleagues and Friends,

A warm welcome to you all. Once again I have the privilege of addressing this assembly. It is inded my pleasure to have been President for another two years, however not without a deep sense of responsiblity which such a position brings with it.

As President, together with the team made up of the Executive Committee members and all the members of the committees working in the different areas, we present for your approval a vast range of initiatives and activities that the Council has worked on throughout 2010. You will have the opportunity to listen to the NCW Annual report in detail as presented by our Honorary General Secretary

As I look back and reflect on the roots of NCW dating back to 1964, I realise that NCW has come a long way because it has always remained in touch with people, recognising and understanding the needs of the most vulnerable and pro-actively identifying how best to address them - a priority of NCW taking action - working on short and long term innovative measures in consultation with government authorities, stakeholders, our counterparts at EU and Commonwealth level for a better quality of life for women and for society. We strongly believe in education as a tool no one can do without. Our Courses at NCW have become very popular and we are proud of the long list of prospective participants who want to improve their skills in IT and other subjects through Lifelong Learning programmes

Where do we stand now? Where does NCW stand now? I recall the concern we all expressed at the 2010 AGM as the effects of the financial crisis started biting into our social fabric; however government intervention and the combined efforts of all stakeholders helped to minimise the negative effects, in particular avoiding increased unemployment.　

Special mention goes to Mrs Cecilia Xuereb, NCW President (1995-1998) who has been awarded the Medal to the Republic, a well deserved honour of which the National Council is so proud

We have responded to draft consultative documents of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs on a number of topics including : a Sexual Health and Education Policy; The role of Fathers in the Family and Child Poverty and Social Exclusion. Our yearly summer commitment to study the pre-budget document is no light matter, but we are proud that many of our recommendations have been taken up by government. And not least our recent consultation sessions on pensions reform wsith the Chair of the Working group – the result of a wide consultation we carried out with various organisations and individuals.

Our participation both on the MEUSAC core group and in the sectoral committees has been constant and our recommendations sent as documents in writing were disseminated to all MEUSAC members. We have also been leading our partner organisations on the MCESD Civil Society Committee by compiling collective documents on Budget proposals which we then submitted to the Ministry of Finance. More recently I have been appointed on the Enterprise Consultative Council by the Minister for Finance and my first contribution was to study the Draft Small Business Act and to ensure that the gender dimension is strongly included in the forthcoming legislation

NCW has been working with our counterparts in the European Economic and Social Committee, (EESC) where I represent Civil Society in addressing issues concerning the role of women in the economy, in employment, in decision-making among others both within the EU and in the Euromed region. I have also been appointed Vice-President of the Employment and Social Affairs Section (SOC) and EESC national contact person for Malta – the first intiative being a project for young people Your Europe Your Say. The Conferences that members of the Executive Commitee participate in have been useful to us as they are opportunities for gaining experience and serve as good practice to adapt to our local situation.

For years we have been strongly addressing the multiple issues surrounding domestic violence and its impact not only on women but also on children and the elderly and the lack of preventive and early detection measures. I have been also had the opportunity to work with the EU Commission

Advisory Committee on Gender Equality, where together with representatives from all EU memeber states we have prepared documents on Women and the Media, Addressing Violence Against Women and The future of Gender Equality Policy for the Commission

NCW has been looking further ahead to ensure that EU Citizens Rights as legally stated in the Lisbon Treaty are implementd through proper measures. Next week we will be participating in the Citizens Agora at the EU Parliament debating participative democracy and Citizens Right of Initiative.

NCW is very much aware that the global challenges we are facing : climate change, security of energy sources, global competition, pensions reform, job security cannot adequaltely be dealt with unless we combine our efforts with those of other stakeholders at National, European and International level. Together with our affiliated organisations, employers organisations and Trade Unions we are looking at other areas that are gaining importance and that we as a Council need so to say jump on the band wagon and ensure that women are engaged in areas nsuch as pensions reform, women in entrepreneurship, women and mental health, addressing undeclared work, innovative family-friendly measures and care services to reconcile family and work responsibilities for both parents, engaging men and boys in eliminating violence against women and empowering the consumer amongst others

2011 is the European Year for Volunteering and through local and European projects we will be working to enhance the initiatives of all volunteers and voluntary orgsnisations whose social and economic contribution to society should gain more recognition.

However 2011 has also special significance for us as we celebrate the centenary of the establishment of International Women’s Day, and today we launch our logo to mark the introduction of the different activities NCW will be organising.

To conclude, I urge you once again to be with us actively, with your ideas, with your participation in all our events. We urge you to share with your friends and relatives all that NCW is doing by disseminating our newsletter Il-Mara,by frequently visiting our website ncwmalta.com and by creating more awareness of the services we offer.

I thank all members of the NCW Committees for their enthusiasm and commitment in all they have undertaken. I wish you all an enriching experience in the hope that when you leave this assembly you will feel proud of your contribtion and proud that you can carry with you somehting useful for you and for others in thei daily life

Thank you

Grace Attard

NCW President

　

　
 
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