Women’s Identities and Roles in Italy

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the gender-equality legislation and policies in Italy, focusing on their recent developments and presenting the most relevant steps in gender-equality achievements in the last decades. The Italian Constitution of 1948 introduced the general principle of legal equality of men and women and ratified salary and treatment equality. Various law-making steps have led to sex parity in different fields, such as access to public employment, work and family legislation, citizenship, and access to the armed forces. In Italy, a symmetric complementary role was the basis of a complex project for the reconstruction of the collective female identity. It was followed by a visible political effort to obtain real equality for women in professions, political parties, and unions. The new EU strategy on gender equality, gender equality in employment, reconciliation of work and family life, presence of women in decision-making positions, and recent measures to fight violence against women are presented. The overall picture which emerges is that, in many fields, Italy has reached some satisfactory results, thanks to relevant progress under the pressure of the women’s movement, civil society, and European legislation. Today, the culture and politics of women help to (a) establish networks of women in different fields, (b) utilize women’s skills and abilities as entrepreneurs, professors, and researchers, and (c) establish a link with schools to promote educational activities aimed especially at young people.