National Council of Women of Malta - Promoting Equality of Opportunities

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: 30/07/2014

Europolitics' staff contributed to this article on women EU Commissioners

Jean-Claude Juncker is losing patience. The political groups in the European Parliament are becoming threatening. All eyes are on the capitals, with one question: where are the women politicians who could be named European commissioners? Not all the member states - far from it -, which have sole responsibility for these decisions, seem resolved to play the hand of gender parity.

To date, 11 states have already named their candidate (Germany, Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia) and all are men. For the 16 states left (Luxembourg being the exception with the designation of a man, Juncker), the designation of women candidates remains very uncertain.

Although politics in Europe is largely dominated by men, it would be very easy to reverse the trend. Europolitics' staff went out to talk to the experts and to collect and cross-check information. Today, it presents the result of this work: a list of 70 women perfectly worthy of becoming European commissioners.

The criteria for the list include education and political career. For each country, Europolitics opted for candidates close to governments or coalitions in office. The list would probably be twice as long if all potential candidates had been included, but pragmatism prevailed in the choices.

The result? The exercise brings to light the fact that it is apparently very difficult for women to emerge as political leaders in Hungary and Latvia. Apart from these two countries, the list is eloquent. Multilingual women, deputy prime ministers, ministers, senior officials, leading MPs: there is no lack of resources.

Nine women were appointed to the Barroso II Commission in 2009. Not all stood out during the last five years, but no one would argue that all their male colleagues will leave an indelible imprint either.

In any case, the choice exists and it is not too late to make it. The new Europe will not be built without new faces, including women's faces if possible. After all, more than half of Europeans are women.

Europolitics' list:

AUSTRIA

Doris Bures, 51 (SPÖ/S&D). Minister for transport, innovation and technology since 2008. She previously held the women, media and public service portfolio.

Maria Fekter, 58 (ÖVP/EPP). Nicknamed "the Austrian iron lady," she was the first woman ever named finance minister in her country, a job she held from 2011 to 2013. She currently sits in Austria's parliament.

Ursula Plassnik, 58 (ÖVP/EPP). Foreign minister from 2004 to 2008, Plassnik is Austria's ambassador to France today. The post of OSCE secretary-general slipped through her fingers in 2011 due to Turkey's veto over Plassnik's opposition to its entry in the Union.

NB: The Austrian government is constituted of a coalition (ÖVP/EPP- SPÖ/S&D) led by Werner Faymann (SPÖ). Outgoing Commissioner Johannes Hahn (regional policy) is already confirmed for a second term.

BELGIUM

Marianne Thyssen, 57 (CD&V/EPP). MEP since 2009 and former party leader, she is the favourite candidate to become a commissioner.

Maggie De Block, 52 (Open VLD/ALDE). Current state secretary for immigration and social inclusion, she was designated Woman of the Year in 2013 by the Belgian media.

Annemie Neyts, 70 (Open VLD/ALDE). MEP since 1994, she has been state secretary for the Brussels Region and junior foreign affairs minister.

Laurette Onkelinx, 55 (PS/S&D). First elected in 1987, she is a prominent player on the political scene. Currently deputy prime minister and minister for social affairs and health.

Annemie Turtelboom, 46 (Open VLD/ALDE). Former interior minister, she is minister for justice.

NB. Since the 25 May general elections, Belgium has had a caretaker government. The Flemish-Walloon dimension also influences the commissioner nomination. The outgoing Commissioner, Karel De Gucht (Flemish Liberal), is actively trying to remain in office (trade).

BULGARIA

Irina Bokova, 61 (Socialist). Elected director-general of UNESCO in 2009, she was re-elected in October 2013 for a second term. She has also served as ambassador to France and Monaco.

Zinaida Zlatanova, 40 (Socialist). The former head of the European Commission Delegation in Bulgaria, she was named vice-minister president and justice minister in the centre-left government in 2013.

NB: The outgoing Commissioner (cooperation and humanitarian aid), Kristalina Georgieva, 61, is also a favourite for a second term. But the name of former President Sergei Stanishev, president of the Party of European Socialists, is also being mentioned.

CROATIA

Vesna Pusić, 61 (HNS/ALDE). Currently minister of foreign affairs, she led her country’s membership negotiations with the EU.

NB. Neven Mimica, the outgoing commissioner (consumer protection), has been renominated for a new Commission term.

CYPRUS

Chrystalla Georghadji, 57. Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, she has never held a ministerial post.

Stella Kyriakides, 49 (Democratic Rally Party -DISY). She has never been named as a minister but is a member of the Cypriot parliament. She is known for her expertise in social affairs and health.

Zeta Emilianidou, 42, a senior official at the Trade Ministry. She is currently minister for labour and social insurance.

NB: Outgoing Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou (education, youth and multilingualism) is expected to be replaced by the current government spokesman, Christos Stylianides.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Hana Marvanova, 51 (Liberal). She recently resigned as deputy justice minister and has been leader of the Czech Liberal party. She has a high political profile and strong background in legal and consumer affairs.

Vera Jourova, 49 (ANO). She has been minister for regional development since January 2014.

NB: Stefan Füle, the outgoing commissioner, is in charge of enlargement and neighbourhood policy.

DENMARK

Christine Antorini, 49 (SocDem). Minister for education since October 2011.

Karen Haekkerup, 40 (SocDem). Minister for justice since December 2013. Previous ministerial posts were in agriculture and social affairs.

NB: Outgoing Commissioner Connnie Hedegaard (climate action) has no chance of being reappointed because of a change of government.

ESTONIA

Laine Randjärv, 49 (Reform Party). The former mayor of Tartu, like Andrus Ansip, who appointed her as minister of culture (from 2007 to 2011), she currently serves as vice-president of Estonia's parliament.

NB: Former Prime Minister Ansip has already been named to replace Siim Kallas (transport).

FINLAND

Jutta Urpilainen, 38 (Social Democrat Party). Finance minister and vice-premier from 2011 to 2014 in the government of Conservative Jyrki Katainen.

Eva Biaudet, 53 (Swedish People's Party). Ombudsman for minorities since 2010, candidate in the 2012 presidential election, OSCE special representative on the issue of human trafficking, former minister for health and social affairs (1999-2000 and 2002-2003).

Sirpa Pietikäinen, 55 (Conservative Party). Environment minister from 1991 to 1995, MEP since 2008, former president of the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

NB: Olli Rehn, outgoing commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, has already been replaced by former Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen.

FRANCE

Ségolène Royal, 60 (PS/S&D). Minister for ecology and energy, ex-candidate in the presidential election and former partner of the president of the republic.

Elisabeth Guigou, 67 (PS/S&D). Former justice minister, she currently chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee at the National Assembly.

Pervenche Berès, 57 (PS/S&D). The former assistant to Laurent Fabius has spent her entire political career in Brussels as a member of the EP. She has chaired the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL).

NB: The candidate who appears to be the favourite at this stage to replace Michel Barnier (internal market and financial services) is former Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.

GERMANY

Ursula von der Leyen, 55 (CDU/EPP). First German female defence minister, she has also been labour and social affairs minister.

Ilse Aigner, 49 (CSU/EPP). Former federal agriculture minister, she is deputy minister-president and economy minister of Bavaria.

Andrea Nahles, 44 (SPD/S&D). Federal minister of labour and social affairs and SPD secretary-general.

Johanna Wanka, 63 (CDU/EPP). Federal minister for education and research, she was formerly minister of science and culture in Brandenburg and Lower Saxony.

Barbara Hendricks, 62 (SPD/S&D). Federal minister for the environment and nuclear safety, junior federal finance minister between 1998 and 2007.

NB: Angela Merkel has renominated the outgoing Commissioner, Günther Oettinger (energy).

GREECE

Dora Bakoyannis, 60 (Democratic Alliance, right), trained as a political analyst. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Constantinos Mitsotakis. She has been foreign minister, minister of culture and mayor of Athens.

Yanna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, 59, trained in law, nicknamed the "iron lady of Greece" because of her strong personality. She is a businesswoman and right-of-centre politician known internationally for having chaired the organising committee for the 2004 Greek Olympics in Athens.

NB: Maria Damanaki, outgoing commissioner for fisheries and maritime affairs, is not expected to be reappointed.

HUNGARY

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's inner circle in Hungary does not seem to include any women.

NB: Tibor Navracsics, minister for public administration and justice, is likely to be appointed as commissioner.

IRELAND

Mairead McGuinness, 55 (EPP). A former journalist, she has been an MEP since 2004 with strong expertise in agricultural policy and was recently elected a Parliament vice-president.

NB: Environment Minister Phil Hogan is expected to be nominated to replace Máire Geoghegan-Quinn (research and inoovation).

ITALY

Federica Mogherini, 41 (Democratic Party/S&D). The current foreign minister is a novice in politics. Chosen by Matteo Renzi, she is one of the potential candidates for the job of EU high representative for foreign affairs, to succeed Catherine Ashton.

Roberta Pinotti, 53 (Democratic Party/S&D). She is defence minister in Matteo Renzi's government. Ex-state secretary in the government of Enrico Letta, she is the first woman to head this ministry.

NB: Outgoing Industry Commissioner Tonio Tajani, appointed by Silvio Berlusconi, has been elected as a member of the EP.

LATVIA

Sandra Kalniete, 61 (Unity). Former foreign minister (2002-2004) and commissioner for agriculture and fisheries in 2004 before being ousted by the Latvian government, she has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009.

Solvita Aboltina, 51 (Unity). Justice minister from 2004 to 2006, president of Latvia's parliament since 2010, she makes no secret of her interest in being named to the Commission.

NB: Former Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is expected to replace Andris Piebalgs (development).

LITHUANIA

There are no credible names, apart from Dalia Grybauskaite, just re-elected president of the republic. The country has very few women ministers.

NB: Health Minister Vytenis Andriukaitis is likely to succeed Algirdas Semeta (taxation). Andriukaitis was designated by the Social Democrat Party, the leading party in office in Vilnius

LUXEMBOURG

Since the European Commission presidency is expected to go to Jean-Claude Juncker, no other name is under consideration at this stage.

MALTA

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, 55 (Labour Party). She became president of the Republic of Malta in April 2014, after sitting as a member of Malta's parliament from 1998 to 2014. She also served as minister for the family and social solidarity.

NB: Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella is likely to be named as Malta's next commissioner. He would succeed Tonio Borg (health).

NETHERLANDS

Jeanine Antoinette Hennis-Plasschaert, 41 (CCD/ALDE). She is currently defence minister and is a former MEP.

Lilianne Ploumen, 51 (PvdA/S&D). She currently holds the job of minister for external trade and development.

NB: Two men are also in the race to succeed Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda): Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans (to replace Catherine Ashton) and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

POLAND

Elzbieta Bienkowska, 50 (Civic Platform). Deputy prime minister, minister of infrastructure and development and former regional development minister.

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, 61 (Civic Platform). Mayor of Warsaw, ex-president of the National Bank of Poland and former vice-president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, 66 (Civic Platform). Minister of science and higher education and former MEP.

NB: Radoslaw Sikorski, foreign affairs minister, is often cited as the possible high representative for foreign affairs or as successor to outgoing Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski. Former Regional Affairs Commissioner Danuta Hübner is also mentioned.

PORTUGAL

Maria da Graca Carvalho, 59 (SDP). An MEP between 2009 and 2014, she was science minister in Barroso´s government.

Maria Luis Albuquerque, 46 (SDP). Currently finance minister.

Berta Cabral, 45 (SDP). First woman to serve as secretary of state in the Defence Ministry

ROMANIA

Rovana Plumb, 54 (Social Democratic Party). A former MEP, she is minister of labour and social protection.

Corina Cretu, 47 (Social Democratic Party). MEP since 2007, she was spokesperson for the first democratically elected president.

SLOVAKIA

Iveta Radicova, 57 (former member of Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party). Prime minister in 2010-2012, she has also been minister of defence and minister of labour.

Zuzana Zvolenska, 42 (Smer-SD). Health minister since 2012 and only female in cabinet.

Lucia ?itňanská, 50 (SDKU). Member of Slovak Republic’s National Council. Has been deputy prime minister and minister of justice.

NB: Outgoing Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic (institutional relations and administration) is expected to be renominated.

SLOVENIA

Alenka Bratusek, 44 (Positive Slovenia). A left-of-centre politician, she is a former prime minister of Slovenia.

Ljudmila Novak, 54 (New Slovenia/EPP). National politician and former member of the European Parliament. She was a member of the EP Committee on Culture and Education (CULT).

NB: Slovenia is holding early legislative elections on 13 July, which will no doubt influence the choice of the next commissioner set to replace Janez Potocnik (environment).

SPAIN

Esperanza Aguirre, 62 (Partido Popular). Former minister and president of the Madrid region, she is currently PP president in Madrid.

Ana Pastor, 56 (PP). Minister of public works and transport. She has had a solid career in Spanish ministries.

Luisa Fernanda Rudi, 63 (PP). Former MEP and president of Spain’s Chamber of Deputies. Currently president of the Aragon region.

Pilar del Castillo, 61 (PP). Former minister of culture and MEP since 2004. She has played an important role in telecommunications regulation.

SWEDEN

Birgitta Ohlsson, 38 (Liberal Party). Minister for European affairs since 2010 (to succeed current Commissioner Cecilia Malmström), also in charge of consumer affairs and democratic issues.

Gunilla Carlsson, 51 (Conservative Party). Minister for cooperation from 2006 until she stepped down in 2013, MEP from 1995 to 2002, EPP vice-president from 2004 to 2006.

Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, 48 (Conservative Party). Minister of transport and infrastructure since 2010 in the Conservative government of Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Lena Ek, 56 (Centrist Party). Environment minister since 2011, MEP from 2004 to 2011, trained in law.

Maud Olofsson, 58 (Centrist Party). Minister for economy and energy from 2006 to 2011 and former vice-premier, head of the Centrist Party (ex-Agrarian) from 2001 to 2011.

UNITED KINGDOM

Theresa Villiers, 46 (Conservative). Secretary of state for Northern Ireland since 2012, previously transport minister. An MEP for six years.

Baroness Warsi, 43 (Conservative). Senior minister of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs since 2012. Previously chair of the Conservative Party.

Caroline Spelman, 56 (Conservative). Previously secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs.

NB: Andrew Lansley, leader of the House of Commons and former health secretary, is tipped to replace Catherine Ashton as British commissioner.

Christophe Garach

Editor-in-Chief

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