Women and political participation in Malta

Maltese women's political participation is notably lower than men's across local councils and the national and European parliaments, most acutely in national elections.

To map the obstacles preventing greater female representation and outline what changes are needed, applying the OSCE/ODIHR 'Gender equality in elected office' six-step framework (Norris and Krook, 2011).

Policy/literature analysis across six intervention areas — constitutional rights, electoral system, legal quotas, party rules and recruitment procedures, capacity development, and parliamentary reform — as they apply to Malta.

The paper documents that women's representation falls 'drastically' below men's in national elections; it does not report quantitative outcome data or an intervention's measured effect.

The paper provides a broad description of women's political participation in Malta at national and local level, intended to inform where future interventions (e.g. quotas, party reform) might be targeted.