National Council of Women Malta to celebrate International Woman’s Day with a difference

International Women’s Day is not usually a celebration but the date reminds us year after year that there is still a gap in equality and it is not only the Gender Pay Gap that needs to be addressed.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid19 world and the National Council of Women believes it is a celebration and a recognition for all the work done during the Covid-19 pandemic by a huge number of women who have selflessly managed, cared and cleaned for those affected by this virus. These women are not only in our hospitals but also in their own homes, as they struggle between working from home, caring for the family and home schooling. Many are of the opinion that men and women have worked closer in caring for the family and that is a step in the right direction in achieving a shared work life balance as a family.

Covid-19 has disrupted lives but at the same time it has brought about changes in the selection of priorities and of what is most important in life. In difficult and challenging times women have risen to the occasion and again they have led silently but surely throughout the pandemic.

The NCW would like to encourage the women who are stressed out and are struggling to keep their jobs in these uncertain times, where the future is fluid and yet with the hope that the vaccine may bring about the new normality that we must all adapt to. The goals in reaching equality may seem somewhat irrelevant when one is seeking survival both at work and in life; however the momentum to continue to seek equality between the genders must not be lost. Life continues and perhaps it is the right time to move faster than ever before, with the knowledge that the new normality may bring about significant change in reducing the existing gap.

As the future keeps unfolding day by day, every woman must not forget the goal to reach equality. This year the focus is in encouraging more women to enter politics and bring about the rationality that is sorely missing at the highest echelons of decision-taking. Women must be more present in Parliament and, with discussions about the mechanism that will elect more women, hope rises in achieving the desired outcome. Spokes in the wheels to achieving a balance in Parliament will in all probability be flaunted as being legitimate, however, women must as usual work that much harder to arrive at their destination. Those women who aspire a seat in Parliament are to be supported not only by other women but also by men.

The NCW would like to wish all women, from all walks of life, a very happy Women’s Day and to thank them all for their dedication towards their families, friends and the nation. This year we celebrate the woman for what she is and what she stands for