‘It Works Against Women Candidates’: Metsola Slams Parliament’s Gender Quota Again
Parliament’s gender quota is being used “as a tool that actively works against women candidates”, according to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
“It has become a smokescreen used to manipulate statistics at the expense of women. There are different things we can discuss to improve the situation (gender-balanced ballot lists are one idea), but ultimately you should be in Parliament because people voted for you to be there. That has to be at the basis of any system,” Metsola wrote on social media, doubling down on what she said in an interview earlier this month.
Admitting that the intention was “noble”, Metsola added that if Malta truly wants to make meaningful progress, the country needs to have a mature conversation about why it remains the only EU Member State without a full-time Parliament. She highlighted the importance of giving MPs access to research support and called for a reform in political party financing—one that prevents parties from having to compete with charities for funding.
“If we really want to raise the level of politics in this country, we need to move this discussion away from the point-scoring, tribalism and hyper-partisanship we see at every level. That’s the only way we can move forward together as a country.”
The gender quota mechanism, introduced before the 2022 election, was designed to ensure at least 40% of Parliament is made up of women. If this target isn’t met, up to 12 extra seats are given to candidates from the under-represented gender. The system, proposed by a technical committee set up in 2019, will remain in place for 20 years or until balanced representation is achieved.
The committee was led by Carmen Sammut and it made many other recommendations that were not taken up. These included: implementing gender-balanced ballot lists by supporting political parties to actively encourage, train, and mentor female candidates; prioritising family-friendly policies and structural reforms to make Parliament a more inclusive space; and setting up a cross-party women’s caucus to ensure that greater female representation leads to meaningful influence in policymaking and legislation.
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