Does Malta need an equal parenting week?
Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels
Whenever events, conferences or talks tackle subjects such as gender equality, the mental load, or even parenting, the overwhelming number of people in the room are women. And, more often than not, organisers acknowledge it - adding that they would have liked to see more men present, thanking those who did show up to be part of a conversation that ultimately shapes the society we live in.
Because this isn’t a “women’s issue.” It never was. It’s about how we live, work, raise children, and relate to one another - and that includes men just as much as women.
That’s why the idea of Equal Parenting Week, being organised for the first time in the UK, immediately stood out to me when I came across it. This is the initiative of a man - Elliott Rae, one of the UK’s most prominent writers and speakers on fatherhood.
I thought to myself – this could really work in Malta to take the conversation to the next level… to rally in both men and women.
And Malta needs this. Recent figures based on Eurostat data, show that Malta has a pension gap of 40.3 per cent, placing it at the bottom of the EU ranking. Research conducted by Professors Anna Borg and Liberato Camilleri and commissioned by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality showed that while just under 47 per cent of women said they performed most of the childcare duties, just one per cent of men reported taking on the primary role.
So, I did what I always do - I rode the wave of enthusiasm and sent a message asking Elliott to share some more information with me because, as I told him, I want to share this idea with Malta... And sure enough, he replied.
Encouraging and enabling dads
Elliott is the founder of Parenting Out Loud in the UK - a movement that seeks to bring about a culture change at home and at work - encouraging and supporting dads to parent loudly.
At its core, the message is simple but powerful: encouraging, supporting and enabling dads to be equal parents is essential to addressing the gender pay gap, the motherhood penalty, and achieving gender equality both at home and at work.
Because, while women have long been carrying the weight of inequality, men have also been confined - expected to prioritise career over caregiving, presence over participation, provision over connection.
And increasingly, Elliott says, they are questioning that.
“Supporting men to be equal and active parents from the start is key for gender equality. And for us dads, we want to have a career to be proud of, but we also want to be close with our children.”
“It is about dads too - and dads have woken up to that. They could be happier if supported not just to play the provider role, but to be equal caregivers as well. Male engagement is really important.”
Elliott Rae
This year, Parenting Out Loud is organising Equal Parenting Week for the first time - a national awareness and action campaign designed to challenge traditional gender roles in caregiving and champion a more balanced, inclusive approach to parenting, both at home and in the workplace.
Elliott explains that Equal Parenting Week has been born from a long time doing this work - seeing the conversation around parenting change and develop, and men wanting to parent out loud.
“There hasn’t been a real, official, proper day, week, or moment that specifically creates space for this. Yes, we already have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. But these are largely symbolic, mainstream moments - not opportunities to truly analyse and address the structural barriers to caregiving and balancing work,” he says.
And those barriers are significant.
“The ‘why’ is massive - the impact on others: fathers, children, businesses, and the economy.... We’re trying to engage businesses, employers, and community groups in conversations on equal parenting - building awareness and embracing it so it becomes a real thing. The plan is to make it an annual event - there’s lots of appetite.”
Why a week? A single day, he explains, would never have been enough. There is simply too much to unpack, too much to challenge, and too much to change.
“Motherhood penalties are well known, but dads also face barriers to being equal parents. This impacts life satisfaction and relationships with partners and children.”
“It is about dads too - and dads have woken up to that. They could be happier if supported not just to play the provider role, but to be equal caregivers as well. Male engagement is really important. These issues impact women and men, and men have recognised that playing a narrow provider–protector role - being put in a box and not supported to be anything else - doesn’t work. The biggest cause of death for men is suicide. Gender roles and patriarchy don’t work for men either. Motherhood penalties are well known, but dads also face barriers to being equal parents. This impacts life satisfaction and relationships with partners and children,” he says.
The campaign shines a light on how outdated gender norms, unequal parental leave, inflexible work, and workplace stigma continue to hold families back.
Equal Parenting Week aims to bring together parents, employers and policymakers - not just to celebrate progress, but to push for the cultural and structural changes and policies still needed to make equal parenting possible for everyone.
The inaugural Equal Parenting Week will take place from Monday 27 April to Sunday 3 May 2026 in the UK.
Should Malta follow?
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