Nearly all participants in a recent study agreed that both men and women should share childcare responsibilities equally but just one per cent of men reported taking the lead.
The research, conducted by Professors Anna Borg and Liberato Camilleri and commissioned by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), explored the ‘Perceptions and Attitudes of women and men in Malta towards work-life balance: with a specific focus on family size’.
Published on Thursday, the study surveyed 600 individuals aged 18 to 39. It did not delve into the ages of the children they were caring for.
The findings show a stark divide in domestic responsibilities. While just under 47 per cent of women said they performed most of the childcare duties, just one per cent of men reported taking on the primary role. Meanwhile, almost 33 per cent of respondents said they believed childcare responsibilities were equally shared.
“This shows that while families in Malta are now likely to be dual-earner households, they have not progressed to dual-carer families,” the study noted.
During a conference presenting the findings, Borg, from the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta, warned of the long-term consequences of this imbalance.
“If we do not try to change this, it will continue to have an impact, as younger generations are saying they don’t want to take on these responsibilities,” she said.
The study also highlighted how unequal divisions of unpaid labour influence decisions about having children.
Nearly twice as many women (46.1 per cent) as men (24.6 per cent) said this imbalance had impacted their fertility decisions. The study suggested this could further exacerbate Malta’s already low fertility rate.
Women in Malta currently give birth to, on average, just one child in their lifetime – the lowest fertility rate in the European Union. This trend is influenced by a combination of factors, including financial pressures as well as socio-cultural attitudes.
The findings also showed that household chores such as cleaning, ironing and cooking remain predominantly the responsibility of women, with 51.5 per cent saying they perform these tasks compared to just 5.9 per cent of men.
Perceptions of shared responsibilities also differ significantly between genders, with 71.4 per cent of men claiming to share household duties, compared to only 45.4 per cent of women.
The report emphasised the need for policy interventions to address these disparities. It proposed training programs to help couples better share domestic responsibilities.