Survey finds women still expected to prioritise family over career
Eurobarometer survey reveals that 63% believe women should prioritise family over career, 61% think feminism has gone ‘too far’, and 62% oppose temporary measures such as quotas to address gender imbalances
A Eurobarometer survey suggests that traditional patriarchal values remain deeply entrenched in Malta with 63% of people believing women should prioritise family over career.
This is nearly double the EU average of 34% and among the highest across the EU, alongside Hungary (64%) and Slovakia (63%). It also stands in stark contrast to the Netherlands (10%), Sweden (12%), and Finland (13%).
Additionally, 69% of Maltese respondents agree that family life suffers when mothers work full-time, compared to 51% across the EU. While this represents an 8-point decline in Malta since 2014, it remains significantly above the EU average. In Finland, only 16% subscribe to this view.
Traditional views about gender roles persist, with 46% of Maltese respondents agreeing that a woman’s most important role is to care for her home and family, compared to 38% in the EU. Similarly, 44% of Maltese respondents believe a man’s primary role is to earn money—an 8-point increase in Malta since 2014, contrasting with a slight decline across the EU.
Greater acceptance of stay-at-home dads
On parental roles, 61% of Maltese respondents agree that if the father’s pay is lower than the mother’s, he should stop working to care for the children, compared to an EU average of 51%. This represents a 29-point increase in Malta since 2014. Meanwhile, 79% of Maltese respondents believe that taking parental leave is enriching for fathers.
Beliefs about household tasks are also shifting, with the percentage of Maltese respondents agreeing that men are naturally less competent than women decreasing by 11 points since 2014, even though 44% still hold onto this stereotype.
Gender equality
Malta leads the EU in terms of perceptions of gender equality in education and healthcare. About 85% of Maltese respondents believe men and women are treated equally in schools, the highest proportion in the EU. Similarly, 85% believe medical staff treat men and women equally, on par with Portugal and Greece. Seventy-seven percent also think that women have the same chance of being promoted as men.
Feminism has gone too far
Scepticism toward feminism is evident in Malta, with 61% agreeing that “feminism has gone too far,” compared to 45% across the EU. This sentiment is highest in Cyprus (63%), Malta (61%), and Slovenia (55%). In contrast, more than half disagree that feminism has “gone too far” in Sweden (63%), the Netherlands (61%), and Germany (56%).
Majority oppose gender quotas
The survey also showed that only 34% of Maltese respondents agree that temporary measures, such as quotas, are necessary to address gender imbalances in politics, compared to 55% across the EU. In contrast, 62% of Maltese respondents oppose such measures, one of the highest rates in the EU.
This resistance suggests a significant gap between policy and public opinion. Malta introduced the Gender Corrective Mechanism in 2021 to increase women’s representation in parliament by reserving additional seats if one gender constitutes less than 40% of elected MPs. This mechanism was first used in the 2022 general election and 12 women were elected to parliament in this way.
But despite widespread disagreement with quotas, the Maltese recognise that women are treated less fairly than men in politics. Only 14% think women are treated better than men, while 42% believe men are treated better.
Despite this aversion to corrective mechanisms, 58% of Maltese respondents believe that having more women in politics leads to better policy decisions, close to the EU average of 60%. However, stereotypes persist, with 68% of Maltese respondents perceiving men as more ambitious in politics than women—a 31-point increase since 2017 and significantly higher than the EU average of 47%. Moreover, 27% of Maltese respondents agree that men make better leaders than women, slightly above the EU average of 25%.
Three-quarters (75%) of Maltese respondents also believe that women, in general, are more likely than men to make decisions based on their emotions, compared to an EU average of 62%. This perception has remained unchanged in Malta since 2014, while it has declined by seven percentage points across the EU.
The survey was published at the end of December and was based on data collected in the first two months of 2024.
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