In a time of impending general election, a quantitative study just published in Taylor & Francis journal Democratization found support for increased representation of women in Malta's national parliament (88.5%) and the integration of the gender corrective mechanism (66.5%), as two of the measures of a broader national reform programme.
"Gender balance in national parliament: voters’ perceptions towards the gender corrective mechanism in Malta" is an article co-authored by Professor Frank Bezzina, UM Pro-Rector and Associate Professor in the Department of Management (Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy), Dr Maria Brown who lectures in the Department of Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education (Faculty of Education) and Dr Vincent Marmarà who lectures in the Department of Management (Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy).
The article is informed by a quantitative study with a representative sample (n = 435) of the Maltese electorate. The study found that despite the stated broad support for increased representation of women in parliament and the integration of the gender corrective mechanism, participants manifested a preference for other measures proposed in the national reform programme, namely: childcare facilities, full-time backbenchers and more females in the electoral commission.
The study adds to literature on how the electorate engages with more representative parliaments when this is targeted using constitutional amendments. Recommendations include financial support for parties to attract candidates from under-represented genders and an effective public information and education campaign that explains the gender corrective mechanism as a safety-valve meant to compensate for any gaps in representation that the other reform measures fail to achieve.
Notably, developments that followed the completion of this study included changes in the composition of the electoral commission. Presently this includes four women. However, there was no agreement on party financing to attract female candidates.
Such partial integration of measures that the study identified as preferred by the representative sample of the Maltese electorate implies that the reform is yielding sustainable development, albeit in an ambivalent manner.