Any Future Leaders Here? 25 Women Sign Up To Labour’s Seventh Female Training Programme
Seeking political experience, 25 women have signed up to the seventh edition of the Labour Party’s female training academy.
At a press conference this afternoon, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli – who has coordinated the LEAD programme from the start – said that the participants’ ages range from 16 to 55, that they live across Malta, Gozo and even overseas.
“The first test for LEAD was the 2019 local council elections, where over 85% of LEAD participants who contested got elected,” Dalli said. “Practically half of all the LEAD candidates we have had over the past 6 years have ended up in public life; this shows what experience LEAD can offer.”
“Our goal is to have more women candidates and we believe that LEAD can give them more visibility, so the electorate can understand what they stand for.”
Labour CEO Randolph Debattista said he was pleased to note that the newest batch of LEAD participants come from different backgrounds.
“This is important because intersectionality is the next step for equality,” he said. “Just like all people in society, women aren’t homogenous and we don’t just want to balance women with men numerically but we want decision-makers to reflect all parts of society.”
LEAD intends to increase PL’s female candidates to 50% by the 2027 general election.
Five PL MPs elected in this year’s election – Rebecca Buttigieg, Cressida Galea, Davina Sammut Hili, Abigail Camilleri, Katya De Giovanni – had originally participated in LEAD.
Buttigieg became the first LEAD candidate to end up in Cabinet when she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms.
Would you like to see more women enter Maltese politics?
READ NEXT: 16 Vs 65: Here's Exactly How Different Generations Prefer To Vote In Malta
