Small States Digest Issue 1 - 2013

Welcome to the first issue of 2013 of the Small States Digest, a quarterly information sharing newsletter from the Commonwealth Secretariat, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of small states.

In this issue, the status of female employment in small states is examined in four articles:

• Small States and the Female Labour Market: Focus on Malta by Rose Marie Azzopardi;
• Female Employment and Unemployment in Namibia by Pempelani Mufune;
• Female Employment in Mauritius by Sheila Bunwaree; and
• Women in Samoa’s Civil Service by Asenati Liki Chan Tung, Desmond Uelese Amosa, and Tuiloma Susana Taua’a.

The introductory article by Rose Marie Azzopardi presents an overview of the status of the female labour market in small states. In particular, this article considers the case of Malta, which has the lowest female labour participation rate in the EU. The various factors that contribute to female labour market participation in small states are analysed in detail.

The second article, by Pempelani Mufune, focuses on Namibia, and finds that although government initiatives have been successful in providing employment opportunities for women and encouraging female labour participation, a significant gender gap still exists in the workforce.

The following article was written by Sheila Bunwaree and examines female employment in Mauritius. This article explores the impact of policies designed to promote female economic empowerment and points to some possible areas of intervention in the future. The final article, by Desmond Amosa et al, looks at the role of women in Samoa’s civil service and finds that significant gains have been made in female employment in the public sector since an ambitious civil service reform project was launched in the 1990s. The authors conclude that this trend is likely to continue as a result of anticipated government initiatives.

As usual, the Digest also contains select economic indicators and a listing of recent publications on small states.

For further information regarding the Small States Digestplease contact Daniel Amin at mailto:smallstatesinfo@commonwealth.int?subject=Small%20States%20Digest.

Previous Issues

• Small States Digest- Issue 4, 2012
• Small States Digest – Issue 3, 2012
• Small States Digest - Issue 2, 2012