Gender diversity in the workplaces: Regulatory framework, public policies, and a possible future scenario

Abstract

The concept of diversity management refers to the business strategy adopted by organizations for the recruitment, retention, and inclusive development of individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Since then, due to the huge socio-cultural, political, and economic transformations, along with the globalization of trade and business models, on the one hand, and the migration flows of people across the globe, on the other, the degree of diversity within organizations has grown exponentially, diversity management has become strategic, and copious literature on this issue has developed over the last three decades. After a brief introduction to the wide field of diversity management, the paper focuses attention on the specific issues of gender diversity in the workplace. Particularly, the analysis concern women’s access to the workplace and the related education and training paths, economic treatment, career opportunities, and the possibility of having in charge leadership roles in organizations. Subsequently, the gender gap is explored by presenting a snapshot of the situation in the European Union (EU) and Italy, also considering the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic. Then the attention is focused on the current Italian regulatory framework. Finally, some concluding remarks and a possible scenario are presented.