Metsola describes gender quota mechanism as 'biggest insult to women'

The parliamentary gender quota system was “the biggest insult to women,” with elected female candidates effectively being told that they had only made it because they got help, Roberta Metsola has said.

Speaking during an interview on Xtra aired on TVM, the European Parliament president called for a full-time parliament that, she said, would attract more female politicians.

“Parliament needs to be full-time. We are the only country in the EU where the Speaker is full-time and the MPs not. Making parliament full-time would allow more women to be involved… The quota system – let's be clear – has failed,” she said.

In the 2017 general election, before the quota system was introduced, eight women were directly elected. When the quota system came into force in 2022 only four women were elected directly. The last time only four women were elected was 1951, she said.

“The biggest insult to a woman is when someone looks at you and tells you that you were elected because you were helped,” she said.

The gender quota system backfired

The gender quota mechanism was introduced at the last general election to address the dearth of women in parliament.

In a 2024 paper titled 'The Maltese Gender Corrective Mechanism—Dashed Hopes and Aspirations' academic JosAnn Cutajar from the University of Malta wrote:

“In the case of the Maltese gender corrective mechanism, the way it was implemented by the political parties helped to discredit it among the general public who realised that this affirmative action would not help tackle the structural and systemic discrimination women face. It backfired since fewer women contested the 2022 election when compared to the previous elections, and fewer were elected on their own merit.

"After the 2022 election, some ended up by referring to the gender corrective mechanism as a “manipulative tool,” “a travesty,” and “a stitch-up between the two main parties”.

A 2024 Eurobarometer survey showed that Malta led the EU in disagreeing with the system: At 62 per cent, Maltese respondents registered the highest disagreement, significantly above the EU average of 36 per cent.

A need to change the way politics is done

During the interview, Metsola spoke about the urgent need to overhaul the way politics is done in Malta.

Maltese politics remained too partisan. Past templates and campaign strategies were no longer valid in today’s world, she argued.

“When I walk into a school, the children do not identify as being Labour or Nationalist - they identify as being Maltese. This teaches me… when you look at what our country needs, it's a politics that is not tribalized… one where courageous decisions are taken,” she said.

'I will always serve where needed'

When asked by programme host Saviour Balzan if she planned on returning to Malta, she replied: “I never left Malta…. I am part of the politics in Malta daily with my colleagues who are working to change direction – I will always be part of every discussion and decision.”

Pressed on whether she excluded returning to local politics, she said: “I will always serve where needed.”

During the interview, she also spoke about a range of other subjects including US tariffs, the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, and defence.