Malta’s democracy is failing women by design

The votes have been counted, and the governing party has been returned to power.

But elections are not enough proof of a healthy democracy, especially when our political system continues to fail half the population… not by accident but by design.

At first glance, there is reason to be encouraged. Women elected directly accounted for 19 per cent of MPs, up from 13 per cent in 2022. But, before we can celebrate, let us remember that, although progress has been registered, this figure remains well below the 40 per cent target, and 12 women still have to enter Parliament through the gender-corrective mechanism.

I believe democracy is failing not because voters reject women, or because women lack the competence to serve, but because the system that determines who gets to compete, seen and supported, was never built with equality in mind.

To date, Malta’s political parties remain the primary gatekeepers of power. They continue to operate through tightly controlled internal structures that favour familiar names, established networks and people who fit in the traditional political mould.

So while candidate selection may appear open, in practice it is shaped by visibility, long-standing relationships and access to the party’s machinery.

By the time voters are handed a ballot paper, the range of viable choices has already been filtered. Although the outcome is presented as the pure expression of democratic will, it is the result of a process that quietly narrows representation while publicly celebrating choice. And those who benefit from that system have little incentive to change it.

The introduction of the gender-corrective mechanism was undeniably a step in the right direction and should not be dismissed. It signalled recognition that something was structurally wrong. But let us be equally clear: it was a modest step; too cautious, too limited and, ultimately, far from a convincing solution.

The debate too often centres on the mechanism itself, as though it created the problem, but that misses the point. The mechanism did not create the imbalance. If anything, it is restrained and designed to avoid challenging the structures that made them necessary in the first place. And that is precisely the problem. If we are serious about representation, then incremental adjustments will not suffice.

Reform must go deeper into where inequality takes shape. This includes seriously reconsidering alternative electoral designs, such as having separate candidate lists – where a set number of men and women would have to be elected from each district – or other mechanisms that ensure women are visible from the outset, not appended after the fact.

By the time voters are handed a ballot paper, the range of viable choices has already been filtered- Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Beyond improving the final numbers, these changes would challenge the assumption that women’s representation is something to be corrected afterwards, rather than built into the political process from the start.

However, access to the ballot is only part of the issue. We must also consider whether the conditions of political life make it possible for a wider range of people to serve. Here too, Malta has been slow to act.

The necessary reforms that should have accompanied the gender-corrective mechanism are nowhere in sight. These should have included, for example, a serious discussion about a fully functioning, full-time parliament, adequate remuneration for parliamentarians and proper professional support.

These reforms are central to the question of who can afford to enter politics in the first place. Add to this the absence of effective family-friendly and child-conscious structures – our modern parliament building still lacks basic facilities, such as proper nappy-changing facilities and a breastfeeding unit – which further reinforce the message that participation is easier for some than for others.

A political environment that is incompatible with caregiving responsibilities, financial stability and work-life balance will inevitably be exclusionary, with women disproportionately affected.

Unfortunately, these structural barriers are too often sidelined, while the debate remains fixated on surface-level fixes. This is where the real failure lies.

Malta has grown comfortable with this imbalance. We debate, we review, we tweak, but we stop short of confronting the deeper reluctance to change how power is distributed and sustained.

Meaningful reform requires political parties to loosen control, institutions to modernise, and mindsets to shift from preservation to fairness.

And this is where resistance remains. Malta’s attempts to fix representation are half-hearted and seem to have stopped at the implementation of the gender-corrective mechanism.

But if that is where our country’s ambition ends, then it is not reform and Malta’s democracy will continue to fail women by design.

President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was a member of Parliament from 1998 to 2014.