With 65.0 out of 100 points, Malta ranks 13th in the EU on the Gender Equality Index. Its score is 3.0 points below the EU’s score. Since 2010, Malta’s score has increased by 10.6 points raising its ranking by five places. Since 2018, Malta’s score has increased by 1.6 points, mainly driven by improvements in the domain of power. Consequently, its ranking has improved by one place.2019 - With 62.5 out of 100 points, Malta ranks 15th in the EU on the Gender Equality Index. Its score is 4.9 points lower than the EU’s score. Between 2005 and 2017, Malta’s score increased by 6.5 points (+ 2.4 points since 2015). Malta is progressing towards gender equality. Its ranking is the same as in 2005.
Malta’s score is the highest in the domain of health (92.3 points), ranking 2nd among all Member States. The country’s ranking is the highest in the sub-domain of access to health services (1st among all Member States), in which it scores 99.8 points.
Gender inequalities are most pronounced in the domain of power (37.5 points) in which Malta ranks 19th. Despite improvements since 2018 (+ 4.7 points), Malta is furthest away from gender equality in the subdomain of economic decision-making. With a score of 29.9 points, it ranks 18th in this sub-domain.
Malta’s score in the domain of work increased from 65.1 points in 2010 to 76.8 points in 2019, improving its ranking in this domain from the 23rd to the 5th place. These changes were largely driven by an improvement in the sub-domain of work participation (+ 21.2 points). Since 2018, the country’s ranking in the domain of work has improved by one place (+ 1.4 points).
Malta’s score in the domain of knowledge stalled between 2010 and 2018 (– 0.2 points), but it has further decreased in this domain since 2018 (– 1.9 points). Its ranking in the domain of knowledge has dropped from the 8th to the 9th place since 2018.
No score is given to Malta in the domain of violence, due to a lack of comparable EU-wide data. During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on mobility and increased isolation exposed women to a higher risk of violence committed by an intimate partner. While the full extent of violence during the pandemic is difficult to assess, media and women’s organisations have reported a sharp increase in the demand for services for women victims of violence. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated pre-existing gaps in the prevention of violence against women and the provision of adequately funded victim support services.