The Gender Top-up System is not enough
Historically, men were given the right to vote in 1921, while women were given the same right in 1947. Although we have come a long way as a country when it comes to gender equality, some professions, including politics, still seem to be male-dominated.
In Malta, women hold only 15% of parliamentary seats, the second-lowest percentage in the EU. To try to increase the number of women in politics, the gender top-up system was proposed. The reform, supported by both political parties, would aim to increase the number of women in parliament by allocating 12 additional seats for women if their share is less than 40% in the upcoming election.
Currently, only 9 out of 67 members of parliament are women and the proposed system was met with quite different opinions. Some women in politics agreed with the gender quota as they believe it would be a great start, since the system would create more female role models for younger women to look up to. Others were less convinced and said that while the proposal is a step in the right direction, a societal and cultural shift is also necessary to increase the number of women in politics.
Contrastingly, some women were not as welcoming to the gender top-up system—claiming that the proposed quote is sexist. Do women need additional seats in parliament simply because they are… women? Many stated that giving out seats to women for the sole reason that they are women is, in fact, degrading and patriarchal in ideology.
There are women in politics who are very successful without having had the gender quota to give them a leg up in politics. Dr. Roberta Metsola stated that she hopes that people choose to elect her because they think she’s the best person for the job and not the best woman. So, if we do have successful women in politics such as Dr. Roberta Metsola and Dr.Miriam Dalli, why do we have such a low percentage of women in parliamentary seats?
The main problem is that women do not contest. To have more women occupying seats in parliament, there need to be more female candidates to vote for. Statistically, women are not attracted to entering politics for various reasons. One reason is the lack of time for family and personal matters. While having numerous responsibilities, opting for a career in politics leaves one with little family or personal time. However, one must also consider the social and cultural bias surrounding female politicians. A gender top-up system is important since it starts a discussion on the lack of female politicians, but it is not enough.
Female politicians tend to face more discriminatory acts and hate speech. Take Eve Borg Bonello, an activist who fights for free speech and against corruption, and the comments she receives. A Maltese woman was fined €1,500, sentenced to a six-month prison sentence and suspended for four years after leaving a hateful comment threatening Eve’s well-being. Eve’s win in court shows a step in the right direction – hate speech should not be tolerated no matter the gender of the politician. Yet women are incidentally more prone to receive misogynistic comments such as ‘men are better for politics’ and an even more invasion of privacy when it comes to their romantic relationships.
Maybe to have more women in politics, one must tackle it from the starting point—in schools. We have organisations and Universities sending people to talk to women about entering the world of STEM. Why isn’t the same being done for politics? If one educates on the importance of politics and incites students, especially women, to enter politics, then maybe we will have more women in politics, without the need for a controversial gender quota system.
