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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.
Date: 14/05/2013
 

European Commission
MEMO
Brussels, 14 May 2013
Women on Boards: Vice-President Viviane Reding and Markus Klimmer, Managing Director at Accenture discuss challenges and opportunities


Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner, met with Markus Klimmer, Managing Director at Accenture, today to discuss how best to improve gender balance on company boards.
Vice-President Reding said:
“Gender equality at work is not a women’s issue, but a business and economic imperative. Today, women still only represent 16% of board members in Europe – a shocking waste of talent when you think that 60% of university graduates are female.
Making use of female talent can improve companies' performance. A number of studies from business actors suggest that companies with a higher share of women at top levels deliver stronger organisational and financial performance.
The question is just: how to get there? The answer is simple: time-limited regulatory intervention can make all the difference. The push for gender balance on boards is gaining steam. The glass ceiling is starting to crack. The increase in the share of women on boards in Europe over the past year has been the highest yet recorded. It has been greatest in countries such as France, Italy and Denmark, which have recently introduced legislation on this matter. They are the motor of change."
Markus Klimmer, Managing Director at Accenture's said: "By 2025 Germany is expected to face a demographic gap in the labour market of 5 million people. One third of this could be filled by increasing the participation of women in the economy. Germany's and Europe's competitiveness critically depends on mobilising all talent available. Women's participation in the labour market is therefore not only a women's or an equality issue but a question of sound economic policy. This issue is too important to be left to the often arbitrary whims of men in leadership positions."
Vice-President Reding added:
"The proposal for a Directive that the Commission put on the table last year to make headway on gender equality strikes a reasonable balance. It is a fair deal both for the business world and for women who have the same right to pursue careers as men.
I am happy that Mr Klimmer and more and more men in the business world are recognising the importance of gender diversity and are supporting our objective. Key players in the business world like Accenture – which already has 36% of women on their board – are setting a good example that which companies should follow."

Background
In November 2012, the Commission proposed a Directive setting a 40% objective of the under-represented sex in non-executive board-member positions in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises (IP/12/1205 and MEMO/12/860). Companies which have a lower share (less than 40%) of the under-represented sex among the non-executive directors will be required to make appointments to those positions on the basis of a comparative analysis of the qualifications of each candidate, by applying clear, gender-neutral and unambiguous criteria. Given equal qualifications, priority shall be given to the under-represented sex. The objective of attaining at least 40% membership of the under-represented sex for the non-executive positions should thus be met by 2020 while public undertakings – over which public authorities exercise a dominant influence – will have two years less, until 2018.
Although the proposal is not yet law, it is already having an effect. The share of women on boards in publicly listed companies is on the rise (see IP/13/51): women represented on average 16% of board room members in October 2012, up from 11.8% two years earlier. The new figure represents a 2.2 percentage point increase as compared to October 2011 and is the highest year on year change yet recorded. An increase in the share of women on boards has been recorded in all but four EU countries.
Next steps: The European Parliament co-rapporteurs Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (Committee on Women’s Rights) and MEP Evelyn Regner (Committee on Legal Affairs) are expected to present their draft reports in the coming months. The Irish Presidency of the EU has scheduled a discussion at the meeting of Employment and Social Affairs ministers (EPSCO Council) on 20 June 2013.
Further information
Press pack – Women on boards:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/gender-equality/news/121114_en.htm 
European Commission – Gender equality: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality 
Homepage of Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner:
http://ec.europa.eu/reding
Follow the Vice-President on Twitter: @VivianeRedingEU
Markus Klimmer, Managing Director at Accenture
Dr Markus Klimmer is Managing Director at Accenture. He was previously a Partner at McKinsey & Company 2000-2009. Dr Klimmer studied Political Science, Economics and Public Law at the London School of Economics, the University of California Los Angeles, and Hamburg University.
Accenture plc is a multinational management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with its headquarters in Dublin. It is one of the world's largest consulting firms measured by revenues and is a constituent of the Fortune Global 500 list. As of September 2012, the company had around 260,000 employees across 120 countries. Around 35% of its global workforce are women. The board of directors is composed of 11 members, of which three are women (27%).
Accenture has received several prizes for its programmes to promote gender equality at work, such as "2012 Working Mother 100 Best Companies" or "Premio a la empresa flexible" from the Community of Madrid.
 
 
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