Malta
| Quota Information | Parliament Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Are there legislated quotas? | Yes | Structure of parliament | Bicameral |
| For the Single/Lower House? | Yes | >Current members | 79 |
| Percentage of women | 27.85% | ||
| Source: Gender Quotas Database | Source: New Parline | ||
Malta leads the EU in disagreeing that measures such as the gender quota system can solve the underrepresentation of women in politics, despite having a gender quota system itself.
Myriam Spiteri Debono, a notary and former parliamentary speaker, is set to become the 11th President of Malta on 4 April.
Only four women were elected to Parliament in Malta’s general election, down from the eight female MPs elected in 2017.
The court has turned down a constitutional case filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola against government over the gender corrective mechanism approved by parliament last April.
Equality Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar closes the Second Reading debate on the gender corrective mechanism.
Legal experts have voiced fears that gender quota proposals aimed at increasing female participation in Parliament are nothing but a “smokescreen” to introduce political party funding by the State “by stealth”.
The Maltese state will fund political parties to recruit, promote and train female candidates as part of a plan launched by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat unveiled.
Malta could have up to four female representatives in the European Parliament, if all four MEPs contesting the 9 March general election are successful in their bid to be elected in parliament.
Marthese Portelli was recently elected president of the Nationalist Party executive committee, making her the first woman to hold such a post in the history of Malta’s politics. “I would like to invite more women to come forward and participate in the party.