National Commission for the Promotion of Equality - Setting up of a Gender and Science Sub-Committee

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has set up a Gender and Science Sub-Committee, to specifically deal with matters relating to Gender and Science in Malta. NCPE is of the opinion that the goal of translating equal opportunities for all into a reality, can be realised by enabling equal opportunities of access to all levels of decision making processes. This is particularly so in the area of science and technology. Unutilised or under-employed qualified women are a country's hidden investment that from the economic point of view must not go wasted.

The composition of this subcommittee was designed to include members from a broad spectrum of backgrounds such as Academia, Education, Civil Service, Authorities and Ministries, Industry, Professional Associations and other NGOs.
The priorities for discussion and action for the next twelve months have been identified as being education and the popularisation of science, research and audit, together with law and social issues. The main focus will be issues associated with life-related sciences, IT, engineering and restoration.
To initiate the group’s activity, a meeting was held with officials from the National Statistics Office to look into the protocols used for collation and publication of data and the hurdles encountered. Discussion on the content of the EU document just published on Gender Equality and Science is also underway. The Subcommittee is currently striving to clarify the standard, official definition of Science used within the EU member states and the classification criteria used to define the various areas and professions within the discipline, that may vary from country to country. This exercise should lead to a better understanding of the prevailing climate for science students and professionals in the Maltese islands and lead the Subcommittee on to its future tasks.
These issues need to be addressed if we are to improve the position and role of women in scientific research and hence reinforce Malta’s position as a competitive force in the European Research Area.

Those involved in the world of science who wish to be included on a mailing list being set up, are kindly requested to send an email to gender.equality@gov.mt with their details.