Banking on Women A women ’ s development group within HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. June 2010

Banking on Women A women’s developing group within HSBC Bank Malta plc

Partner’s Forum 9th Woman’s Affairs Ministers Meeting St. Michael, Barbados Women’s role in Economoic Development: Challenges and Opportunities 5 June 2010

Partners Forum The death of the male working class Recessions tend to accelerate pre-existing economic trends and this recession seems to be hastening the demise of the male working class.... A mancession. Jobs lost in the last two years in Britain were mostly done by males and new vacancies favoured women By 2013 there should be more women working than men in UK. In UK there was no recession in the public sector and this favoured women 9%of those who declare themselves to be looking after the house/family in Britain are men- a figure which has trebled since 1993

Partners Forum Well educated middle class guys are doing fine, it is the blue collar males who are suffering Men lose out to women also in the number who go to prison, in heatlh problems, they die younger, perform worst at school and universities- 57% of applicants to UK universities are women Feminised economy of the future is still not going to be easy… women have still to have the babies and men need work.

Partners Forum Has the glass ceiling been shattered?..”Women never had it so good in the workplace” 1. Various views on work, motherhood and sacrifices to be made 2. Flexible working hours, working from home and attachment parenting helped 3. Family issues are not just a woman issue but also that of the partner. A need for a forward thinking law 4. The few who have a chance for boardroom level opt out to have a family 5. Women’s nature- they do not assert themselves and not play as hard as men 6. Need for sacrifice

Partners Forum Report on the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development – published by the UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs Calibrates the consequences of unequal distribution of economic and financial resources between women and men Substantial reordering is made more urgent in the context of the current financial and economic crisis

Partners Forum Eurochambres Women Network (EWN) On Board – Women on board of local development CHASE-Chamber against stereotypes in employment

Partners Forum The Financial Crisis and Women Lisbon Strategy-indications show that there is not a satisfactory rate of progress on these challenges

Partners Forum Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: TACKLING THE PAY GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN EU- Women earn 15% less than men Pay gap grows with age, education and years of service Progress made by women within education, research and enterprise is not reflected in their position on the labour market Employment rate for women is lower than for men and much lower for women in the years age group

Partners Forum Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: TACKLING THE PAY GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN Unemployment is higher for women than for men Pension rights are therefore effected by labour market position and pay gap for women. Pension systems should guarantee equality Positive discrimination measures must remain- big gap in numbers in managerial positions CONCLUSION BY EESC: ALL STAKEHOLDERS SHOULD BE INVOLVED TO NARROW THE PAY GAP. PAY MUST BE EQUALISED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS OF THE LISBON TREATY, GUARANTEE PUBLIC WELFARE AND SECURE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

Partners Forum FEMALE POWER More women are working than ever before, have taken control over their lives and what is remarkable is that this has produced little friction Yet this benign change comes along with social consequences Women are increasing in percentage of workforce and they earn almost 60% of university degrees in America and Europe. Yet employment rates are not unfirom in all countries and women earn substantially less than men on average and are severely-under represented at the top of organisations.

Partners Forum What explains this revolution? 1. Politics 2. Rich world has growing demand for woman’s labour-rise of the service sector and decline of manufacturing 3. Improved technology 4. Contraceptive pill 5. Education 6. University education in more marketable subjects 7. To sustain living standards

Partners Forum Production versus reproduction Middle rungs are dominated by males and upper rungs are out of reach Forced to choose between motherhood and careers if a top job is to be achieved. 40% of professional women in Switzerland are childless Children with one parent working rather than two are 3x more likely to be poor

Partners Forum Production versus reproduction Not enough time with children Different countries adopted different solutions to the problem of combining work with parenthood America and Britain have the lowest scores for children wellbeing- Unicef Report 2007.

Partners Forum A WOMAN’S WORLD An ageing workforce and a more skill dependent economy means that countries will have to make better use of their female population Many elite companies are rethinking their promotional practices Home working is increasingly fashionable Companies are restructuring careers as more people are working and living longer

Partners Forum Talented women are starting their own companies Governments are adjusting the school hours too Yet the children of poorer working mothers are the least likely to benefit from female-friendly companies. Millions of families still struggle with insufficient child- care facilities and a school day that bears no relationship to their working lives. The West will be struggling to cope with the social consequences of women’s economic empowerment for many years to come.

“ The search for equality is not a search for sameness. We are different and equal ” Thank you