Femmes et travail: représentations du féminin et politiques de conciliation travail-vie. L'exemple italien

Abstract

Important changes have characterized the social and economic role of women. For the latter paid work has become a fundamental part of their life. Yet such important changes have not corroded a division of labour that assigns to them highly informal responsibilities, generating in many cases conflicts between family and work activity. The present article is focused on Italy and proves the stability of the gender division of labour mentioned above. In particular a set of specific explanatory variables is stressed: a socio-cultural milieu that reinforces a strict division between public and private spheres, and a traditional understanding of men and women with regard to paid and unpaid work. Such a cultural delay, that produces heavy consequences on the participation of women in the labour market and on the construction of coherent and stable careers, has been analysed though an empirical research. This looks at the circular relationship between the crystallization of beliefs and conventions about the social and economic role of women, and the institutionalization of public and private firms' work-life balance policies that tend to interpret conciliation to be basically a female issue. Analysing the social environmental influence that classifications and logical operations has on action, the article inquires into the potential for women to adhere to those interpretative scripts.