Why has the growth of female employment in Italy been so slow?

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the growth in employment of Italian women, from 1971 to 2009, focusing our attention on younger women, in the 20–34-year age group, using Census and Labour Force Survey data. Women's employment in Italy increased in the first three decades but stopped growing in the last, although in most European countries it has continued to grow. In spite of the rise in education of women and of the important socio-demographic changes that have expanded women's propensity to work, social policies aimed to support the conciliation of work and the family have been very limited compared with other European countries. Cross-country comparisons show that a slower growth in female employment has characterized areas where social policies have been more limited.