Malta digital gender gap: Just 14% of IT specialists are women
The share of information and communication technology specialists in Malta stands at 4.7%, slightly below the EU average of 4.8%, but just 13.8% of these are women
The share of information and communication technology (ICT) specialists in Malta stands at 4.7%, slightly below the EU average of 4.8%, but just 13.8% of these are women, with the profession being entirely male-dominated.
The data emerges from the 2024 Digital Decade Country Report for Malta, issued by the European Commission, which lauds Malta’s notable progress in connectivity infrastructure, specifically in the roll-out of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) networks.
In the past year, Maltese enterprises advanced in adopting artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. However, the report highlights ongoing challenges in filling the ICT specialist gap, with key issues being the under-representation of women in the sector and the “stagnant” number of ICT specialists, which “remains low in comparison to the required demand.”
The report cites data from the University of Malta, estimating a skills gap of around 1:6, meaning there are six available open positions for ICT-related employment for every single, local skilled individual available.
Other challenges relate to the “mathematical competency” of the younger student population, which has reportedly declined in recent years. Integrating coding and technology-related skills in courses at younger ages is proposed as one of the solutions.
While noting that the shortage of digital skills is being partly addressed by Malta’s National e-Skills Strategy, the report calls on Malta to improve cooperation with industry and civil society “to regularly evaluate and adjust education and training offers to meet labor market needs and encourage women to become ICT specialists.”
Regarding basic digital skills, Malta still performs well above the EU average, with 63% of the population having basic digital skills compared to the EU average of 55.6%. Although Malta performs well in this indicator, the annual growth is slow compared to other countries. In fact, the percentage of the population with digital skills increased by just 1.8% compared to 2021.
Positive indicators
The report describes the ICT ecosystem in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector as “very dynamic”, with 76.5% of SMEs having at least a basic level of digital intensity in 2023, and 68.3% of Maltese enterprises adopting AI, cloud, or data analytics, against an EU average of 54.6%.
Malta also performs very well in its digital infrastructure, having already reached the target for VHCN (Very High Capacity Networks) and basic 5G coverage, and digital public services, which are fully accessible to citizens and businesses.
Malta achieved 100% coverage for VHCN and 5G in 2020 and 2022, respectively. However, 5G coverage in the 3.4–3.8 GHz bands remains limited, at around 24.7%, versus 50.6% at the EU level.
The report notes that the share of fast fixed broadband take-up is increasing but remains limited. In 2023, the share of fixed broadband subscriptions ensuring connectivity speeds equal to or above 1 Gbps was 11.7% (up from 6.8% in 2022 but slightly below the EU average of 18.5%).
Currently, in Malta, there are two nationwide networks providing gigabit connections: GO plc, which provides services based on its fiber and copper network, and Melita Ltd, which has full nationwide HFC (Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial) network coverage. A third network, owned by Epic Communications Ltd, covers only part of Malta. The report positively notes that GO has announced plans to switch off its copper network.
Malta also provides access to a substantial number of online public services through the e-ID system, which can be used to log in to 91% of online public services. Malta has already achieved the EU’s Digital Decade target of providing people with 100% access to key public services online.
Health app proposed by Commission
The Commission is also calling on Malta to offer a mobile application for citizens to access their electronic health records.
The report notes that Malta has made remarkable progress in providing all citizens with access to their electronic health records. Citizens in Malta have online access to most electronic health data as part of a minimum health data set, with all reported medical images also available to all patients and their linked doctors (even those who work only in the private sector), with access also being provided to parents of children under 14.
The country has also significantly improved its overall eHealth maturity score, which stands at 88 in 2023, compared to a score of 77.6 in 2022. In 2023, the EU-27 average was 79.1. The report also notes that in 2023, medical images were added to the myHealth portal. Malta scores an impressive 100 in categories of health data, compared to an EU average of 74.
Hate speech has greater impact on Maltese
The report refers to the results of a Eurobarometer survey showing that the Maltese people are mostly concerned about the misuse of personal data (flagged as important by 52% of respondents) and fake news and disinformation (42%).
Moreover, hate speech is one of the online issues that seems to have a greater impact on the Maltese than on other Europeans; 39% of the Maltese population feel that hate speech has a big impact on their online services. This number is well above the EU average of 22%.
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