EP Office dialogue Women in Public Life marks Women's Day 2010
The Malta EP Office's activities marking Women's Day closed on Friday 16 April with a well-attended Public Dialogue on on "Women in Public life".The half-day event was organised in collaboration with the National Council of Women at the Europe House Conference Hall which was full to capacity with some late-comers having to stand.
The event was marked by an excellent, intelligent audience participation reacting to a number of well-prepared presentations on political, business and trade-union perspectives of women in public life from speakers including MEP Edward SCICLUNA (PES, MT), the President of the Nationalist Party (EPP) Paula Mifsud-Bonnici, the President of the opposition Labour Party (PES) Executive, Lydia Abela, William Portelli and Tony Zarb, leaders of the Malta Union of Bank Employees and the General Workers Union respectively, the Jean Monet Chair in EU Law Prof. Peter Xuereb, business woman and former EP candidate Marlene Mizzi, and the Employers Association President Laurence Mizzi.
The meeting was opened by Julian Vassallo, Head of the EP Office in Malta, as participants were invited to observe a minute of silence for the victims of the Polish tragedy. Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue Chris Said closed the session.
MEP Scicluna said it was shameful that Malta had not even one female MEP as the issue of quotas for women in public posts was debated. Former Labour candidate for the EP elections Marlene Mizzi disagreed saying quotas for women could backfire.
Frances Camilleri-Cassar, who carried out a study on female participation in local politics, said that female representation in Parliament had not changed significantly over the past 60 years.
There was a lot of energy in the room during the event which was attended by European diplomats as well as the US ambassador, Douglas Kmiec, who made an impromptu speech on the view from the US.
