By Giselda Vagnoni
ROME, March 18 (Reuters) – Italy is lagging well behind its major European counterparts in terms of female employment, damaging prospects for economic growth and the demographic outlook, an equality report showed.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – Italy’s first female premier – has pledged to boost female employment to support growth and counter Italy’s demographic decline, but has so far struggled to narrow structural divides that have persisted for decades.
The issue returned to the political spotlight after Meloni’s coalition last month rejected an opposition proposal to introduce fully equal, non‑transferable and paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, citing budget constraints.
The study by the Rita Levi‑Montalcini SVIMEZ – W20 Observatory ranks Italy 11th among G20 countries, behind Britain, Germany and France in the list – as well as behind countries such as Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.
‘ITALY IS IN A CRITICAL SITUATION’
Women’s employment stood at 53.2% in 2024, leaving a 17.8 percentage point gap with men. In France, Germany and Britain, the rate is above 66.6% and the gap is below 6.7 percentage points.
“The key indicator is the female employment rate, and unfortunately Italy is in a critical situation,” said Linda Laura Sabbadini, an Italian statistician who has chaired Women 20, the G20’s gender‑equality group.
Women’s inactivity rates exceed employment levels in five southern regions – Basilicata, Puglia, Sicily, Calabria and Campania – even excluding those not working for study reasons, underscoring Italy’s deep north-south divide.
Italy’s central bank has said it is necessary to get more women into the labour market to support long‑term economic growth and ensure Italy’s 3.1 trillion euro ($3.58 trillion) debt pile is sustainable.
“The Bank of Italy estimates closing that gap would boost both the workforce and gross domestic product by around 10%,” said Paola Ansuini, a central director at the bank, at the presentation of the research at Rome’s MAXXI museum.
PAY GAP
In 2024, family reasons accounted for 38.4% of inactivity among women aged 25 to 34 in southern Italy and 49.3% in the centre‑north, compared with just 2.5% and 4.1% respectively among men, the report showed.
This contrasts with education levels, as women in that age group are more likely to hold a university degree than men.
However, involuntary part‑time employment affects 63.6% of female workers in the south and 40.7% in the centre‑north, mainly in tourism and hospitality. That compares with an EU average of 20.9%.
Pay gaps also persist, especially among permanent workers. Men earn on average 120 euros per day in the centre‑north compared with 88 euros for women, and about 90 euros versus 65 euros in southern regions.
“The labour market is the only lever that can fundamentally alter the country’s demographic outlook,” said Luca Bianchi, president of SVIMEZ, a research association focused on economic development in southern Italy.
($1 = 0.8668 euros)
(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni;Editing by Alison Williams)
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