Home The Council Membership Views & Publications InfoWomen Links Photo Gallery Contact Us
Left Banner Right Banner
Resolutions
Mission Statement
 
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 of Malta
Annual General Meeting 2005 - Saturday 29 January 2005  
Approved Resolutions

Reaffirmation of Policy

The National Council of Women in Conference assembled at its Annual General Meeting on Saturday 29 January 2005.

Notes with satisfaction measures taken by Government and relevant authorities in implementing a number of NCW recommendations and resolutions of the past years including:

  • Measures in the National Action Plan on Employment (NAP 2004 – 2006) on gender equality.
  • Measures taken by the NCPE regarding the participation and portrayal of women in the media
  • The inclusion of the gender perspective in the Malta Sustainable Development Strategy 2004-2009 (NCSD)
  • Measures taken in Budget 2005 to enhance empowerment of persons with disability.
  • Measures in the National Action Plan to address social exclusion and poverty.
  • Incentives in Budget 2005 to increase investment for research and development (R&D)


Reaffirms its policy as expressed in its resolutions and recommendations over the past years and urges the relevant authorities to take action on outstanding issues including:

  • Malta’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals
  • Legislation on domestic violence and the implementation of preventive measures, including a multidisciplinary programme of early detection and awareness raising at all levels of education
  • Ensuring the implementation of a Gender Equality Policy and Sexual Harassment Policy at the workplace
  • Setting up the necessary mechanism to implement the principle of Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value.
  • Equal representation of men and women in politics and in economic decision-making bodies
  • To further develop interdisciplinary protocols in cases of alleged rape as defined by the WHO
  • Implementation of the National Breast Screening programme for women at high risk
  • Ensuring adherence to the Precautionary Principle on the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
  • Legislation on Bioethics
  • More awareness of preventive health for all ages amongst the general public


Resolutions for Approval

1.    Extending gender equality in areas other than employment

Education

  • Integrating a gender perspective in preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary  education and in lifelong learning    

Men and Gender Equality

  • Incentives to encourage the participation of men in childcare services
  • Allocation of funds for research on the role of men in gender equality

Equality to access to goods and services
In line with the Council’s formal approval to the directive on access to goods and services of the 14 December 2004

NCW urges Government

  • to amend the Gender Equality Act to include equality to access to goods and services
  • and to set up the necessary structures to implement this directive

The Reformed Pensions System

  • Men usually have a higher pension than women mainly due to the fact that women have breaks in their career because of family responsibilities, such as: care of children or dependent adults. These breaks should not penalize women in their pension payments.

NCW recommends

  • A system in which the calculation factor for the reformed retirement pension addresses the pensions gap.

2. A.  Immigration

  • Aware of the European Commission’s communication on the managed entry in the EU of persons in need of international protection and the enhancement of the protection capacity of the regions of origin
  • Aware of the national consensus reached to address the issue of immigration that is of a very sensitive nature to the Maltese situation
  • Aware that half the world’s refugees are female (49%), children under the age of 18 (43%) and under the age of 5 (11%)


NCW urges

  • the Maltese members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and
  • local authorities concerned that during the process of studying the potential advantages of the proposed single asylum procedure (common asylum policy) the following recommendations are taken into consideration to ensure:
  • the preparatory phase would be an adequate period of consultation, debate in preparation for community legislation.
  • the sharing of responsibility between states in all regions.
  • the monitoring of change in transit countries and countries of origin
  • analysis of migration in relation to gender and age
  • primacy of the Geneva Convention over subsidiary protection status

2 B. Trafficking of Women in the context of migrations

  • As full members of the EU, there is the need for Malta, together with all EU member states, to address the issue of trafficking of women and children in the context of migration at National and European level, in fulfillment of the Beijing Platform for Action.  
  • Governments, the judiciary, the police of receiving countries, transit countries, countries of origin, UN agencies and NGOs need harmonization strategies.


NCW recommends the following priority for Government:

  • to establish an adequate meaning of the definition of trafficking and recognize it as a form of violence and therefore as a major violation of human rights
  • to legislate measures in relation to prevention, protection and prosecution of perpetrators at all times as stated in the Palermo Protocol
  • to strengthen and harmonise the role of other actors involved in the fight against trafficking of human beings
  • to produce guidelines on how women’s grounds for asylum are to be assessed
  • to examine existing national legislation and recognize the importance of international instruments that should be ratified by all countries.

3. NGO legislation and regulation

  • There is the need to create the right environment for NGOs through clear definition and proper recognition, reflected in appropriate laws and regulatory processes and developed in consultation with NGOs
  • NGOs should be recognised not only for their social contribution, but also for their contribution to the economy of the country


NCW urges Government
to take the necessary steps to give priority to an adequate consultation process and debate and to establish appropriate laws and regulatory processes  for the recognition of NGOs in Malta

4. Youth

a. Juvenile Delinquency and Violence
Juvenile delinquency has become a significant problem. Juveniles are increasingly being used in criminal networks, created by adults, in areas such as prostitution, drugs, sexual abuse and other criminal activities. New methods of intervention are required to address the issue.

NCW recommends that Government:

  • designs programmes to tackle the range of factors that play a role at different levels of society: individual, family, school and community.
  • broadens the scope of the juvenile justice system in tackling youth crime.
  • reviews existing systems for dealing with first time offenders/young offenders
  • examines the need to understand deeply the family situation and social cohesion problems which cause juvenile delinquency
  • facilitates and utilises resources of NGOs working with youth
  • addresses the issue of the representation of violence on modern media technologies and its effects on mental health

b. Adolescent Pregnancy

Adolescent childbirth is a global problem. 10% of births worldwide are to teenage mothers. As future mothers, young women are educators of the next generation. It is therefore even more important that young women are given an appropriate education

NCW recommends that Government

  • enhances programmes at all levels of education that address both young women and men on the problems of sexual abuse and adolescent pregnancy
  • Provide the necessary support services to NGOs working with youth to act as pressure groups to achieve changes in education, social church and health practices

5. The Elderly

a. Strategies for extending the age of exit of men and women from the labour market

The promotion of active ageing has been identified as one of the three priority areas to reach the Lisbon targets.
There is the need for long-term strategies for a sustainable Reformed Pensions System

NCW urges Governmebt and relevant stakeholders to include:

  • financial incentives to discourage early retirement and to make employment financially more attractive.
  • access to training strategies and lifelong learning as soon as employees enter the labour market.
  • effective labour market policies that anticipate change and manage restructuring successfully
  • good working conditions conducive to job retention, particularly in terms of health and safety
  • flexible employment conditions for retaining older workers in employment towards the end of their careers
  • the elimination of all forms of age discrimination in the recruitment process in compliance with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

b. Care for the Elderly
NCW also urges Government

  • to address the issue of the standard of care given to elderly citizens including those residing in homes
  • to provide more training to carers in this field leading to a code of ethics that will ensure respect for the dignity of elderly citizens
  • to create a more homely environment, which will help them retain their independence longer by involving their participation

6. Promotion of Vocational Education
Updating of employee skills is a crucial factor for the success of an enterprise or organisation as well as a contributor to the economic well-being of a nation. Higher skills also lead to improvements in productivity through higher standards of performance and greater flexibility

NCW recommends the necessary measures that:

  • encourage the participation and retaining of women in the workforce by further providing flexible learning opportunities.


further recommends:

  • implementing the long overdue national framework for the award of vocational qualifications that will improve not only the public perception of vocational educational  training but that it will also lead to the much needed investment in VET
  • introducing a comprehensive and flexible system of national occupational standards based on employment-led statement of competence and that are prepared in consultation with learning providers and representatives of social partners
  • the provision of opportunities to gain recognition for non-formal and informal learning through the separation of learning processes.
  • the setting up of professional training and assessing centres,

7. The Digital Divide

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) covers a wide range from radio, television to telephony and internet. ICT has brought in a new economy through the above electronic means that have the potential to be a gender equalizer.

NCW recommends:

  • that studies be carried out to address women’s access to credit and financing, and career development to ensure sustainable gender-equitable development in ICT.
  • the introduction of the necessary support structures for women to combine their traditional role in the family household and income earning work without leaving their homes.
  • centres for distance learning for all ages

8. MCESD Civil Society Sub-Committee

Whilst deploring the lack of consultation of MCESD with the MCESD Civil Society Sub-Committee in matters of national importance,

NCW calls on government to:

  • recognize the social and economic contribution that Civil Society Organisations can provide through their respective experts  
  • set up, together with the rest of the MCESD stakeholders a consultation and communication structure that will give a functional role to the Civil Society Committee
 
Developed by Alert Communications