‘More awareness needed if we are to minimise Gender Bias’

“Shortcomings related to the challenges of increasing female participation in the workforce and in business leadership, in a post-pandemic world will not change unless there is increased awareness on the subject” said Perit David Xuereb during an online event this week.

The Malta Chamber President was addressing a webinar which discussed the threat of many women not returning to the workforce after the pandemic.
“While several businesses make it a point to offer equal opportunities away from gender bias when identifying individuals to join their various ranks, there still remain circumstances that hinder women from achieving their full professional potential even in this day and age and we need to be very sensitive to this” Perit Xuereb said.

Social conditioning and culture remain central to this issue, for the Chamber President.

“We must work to erode social stereotypes that may be burdening our women with more than their fair share of work related to the family. We must also be aware of circumstances where men are not encouraged to lend a hand in family responsibilities that should ideally should be split equitably by the two parents”.

In agreement was the Chamber Deputy President Ms Marisa Xuereb who confirmed that often women were expected to care for their children, even while working from home.

“COVID may have actually grown the gender gap divide, as women may be expected to work from home, to be able to care for the children. This naturally is burdening women with a further weight that limits their full potential” Ms Xuereb said.

The event was organised by ‘Self Actualise – Reach your potential’ together with ‘UP – Performance Coaching’, and featured a keynote speech by Dr Mariheca Otto, which was followed by a panel discussion with the contribution of Nathan Farrugia and Mikela Fenech Pace.