Female attitudes towards participation in the labour force in Malta

Abstract

The fact that the local female participation rate is low by international standards remains a major economic concern for Malta, and this despite the amendments to Maltese Law and an apparent change in family roles. It seems that either these developments have been ineffective, or else other inhibiting factors must have been disappearing slowly. Female attitudes towards participation in the labour force have been proposed as an inhibiting factor. However, given the unavailability of longitudinal data, any argument attributing the slow growth in female participation rates to lack of attitude change remains questionable. Yet, it is possible to test for the hypothesis that a woman's attitude score is a significant determinant of her employment status. This is what this study sets out to explore. A questionnaire was thus mailed to 800 randomly selected Maltese females whose age varies between 18 and 50. Through the 373 responses received, it has been possible to gain some insight into the general opinion of this segment and to test for the relevance of female attitudes to the participation decision. The attitude score variable was found to be of little importance. This is an indication that irrespective of whether change has occurred or not, any attempt by policy makers to achieve higher female participation rates by influencing female attitudes is likely to be futile. It also implies that longitudinal data and research about the interrelationships among employment status, socio-economic and personal factors is needed.