There was an article in The Times today (as there periodically is) about how Malta is "improving" with regards to the level of female employment.
I don't see why we keep hearing this touted as an improvement.
I know plenty of women who work, (I am one myself, hahaha) but I think the shift in the "Employment Gender Gap" is caused mostly by mothers of young children going back to work much earlier than our own mothers used to (if they did at all).
It used to be that most mothers would, if they wanted to, work part-time in the mornings once their youngest kid was old enough to go to school, and possibly go back to full-time employment once the kids could take care of themselves after school. But now women are back working full time shortly after having a baby, leaving their newborn with Grandma, because it's almost impossible for a family to live on one paycheque these days.
Have you seen the property prices in the last few years? I'm not talking about the villas in Madliena that we all sigh over in the Owner's Best, I'm talking about nondescript flats in nondescript villages that still cost more than a bank will lend a single person with a decent job. High property prices mean high mortgage payments which mean that there's less money left at the end of the month to pay the other bills with.
New mothers aren't going to work to get a sense of self-fulfillment - all the ones I talk to say that they are watching the clock and waiting for the hour when they can leave to get back to their kids - they're working because it's not enough to have one wage-earner in the family any more.
So really all that these articles celebrate is that mothers can't afford to stay home and raise their children any more.
Wonderful.
Plus more supply (twice as many people working) means real wages are lower than they would be, besides some of those expenses going to child care.. Ouch.
Your banks have been pushing personal debt like crazy in the last few years.. I was amazed. I guess that's modernism.
Posted by: Srl | January 29, 2008 at 18:48
Property prices in Malta are often terribly ridiculous, particularly when talking about first-time buyers! The problem is that even if it is possible to find some places that are not ultra-expensive, there are certain issues that could still block one from being able to receive a mortgage from the bank. I know this because my wife and I are currently trying to purchase an apartment. In spite of being university graduates with some years of work experience, our combined incomes were not enough to receive the amount of money that we needed! Furthermore, given the shockingly high cost of living in Malta, it is virtually impossible to save enough money on a monthly basis to be able to cover some of the expenses from one's own pocket. Very recently, I have been saying to myself that in Malta the salaries tend to be fairly low, but the prices are probably those that one would find in countries such as Germany or France!
Well, I guess that since we are living in a capitalist society, it is hard to expect a more humane economy!
Posted by: David | February 03, 2008 at 11:27