«Still far from satisfactory results in gender equality», according to a study issued by the European Parliament
by Emanuele Bonini
According to the European Gender Equality Index Italy is ranked amongst the countries in the EU with the lowest gender equality, revealed a study from the European Parliament. Italian performance is above the EU average in one area only, namely health, thanks to Italian women’s long life-expectancy. «In any other respect the situation is far from being satisfactory». Policies to re-address the gender unbalance «have been cautious», while progress in the legal framework has been promoted mainly by Directives coming from the EU or by pressures of the civil society. More in general, «Italy lacks of a proper gender infrastructure at central level to promote, coordinate and monitor gender-equality initiatives». According to "The policy on gender equality in Italy" report, the in-depth analysis for the committee on Women’s rights and gender equality, some legislations have been introduced but they are far from a full implementation, and the economic crisis is threatening some of the achievements. Right now the overall supply of care services that are meant to support female employment «is weak and affected by budget cuts». This is particularly true as regards services for the elderly and out-of-school childcare, «since little investments can be expected in this area». Women’s employment and economic independence is jeopardised both by increasing difficulties in reconciling work and family life and by the increasing loss of jobs in the service sector in the second wave of the crisis since 2010. Italy is not a country for women. The overall picture which emerges from the report is that «in many fields Italy is still far from reaching satisfactory results in gender equality, in spite of relevant progress under the pressure of women’s movement, civil society and European legislation». Criticalities are a lot, and the report explain in detail where gender equality is still missing.
Employment. Female employment rates remain low, especially in Southern Italy and in general for women with low education.
Anti-discrimination laws have been adopted, but gender gaps are still large. Career advancement is difficult, and women are over-represented in atypical and precarious jobs. At political level «Italy has never elaborated an effective strategy to favour the inclusion of women into the labour market».
Maternity leave. Maternity is protected by law. However in the productive context of Italy, where 95% of firms have fewer than 10 employees, employers who fear long absences of their female workforce sometimes resort to the unlawful practice of asking young women to sign an undated letter of resignation, to be used in case of pregnancy to justify their dismissal. A law to fight the phenomenon was introduced in 2007 (Law 188/2007), repealed a few months later by the newly-elected Berlusconi government, and partially reintroduced in 2012 without significant results. It is currently again under discussion in parliament.
Pension system. No provision is envisaged for re-balancing the huge disparities which exist in terms of income between retired men and women. The average pension of a woman over 65 is even now around 69% of that of a man of the same age. The gap could soon become dramatic when the amount of the pension is calculated exclusively on the basis of the contributions the worker has paid, given the over-representation of women in precarious jobs and the many interruptions in their work lives.
Political decision-making. The low participation of Italian women in political decision-making has characterized the history of the Republic. Women's participation in public life is not well established in Italy and their presence in national politics is not supported by gender quotas, although gender quotas are in force at local level. Nowadays parties may have voluntary quotas
but this is not a consolidated and widespread practice. The only sanction presently in force at national level (covering national, regional and European elections) is the law 96 issued in 2012 which curtails by 5% public contribution to parties that do not respect the proportion of 2/3 maximum of the same sex candidates in their lists.
Social protection. Sexual violence was acknowledged as a «crime against the person» only in 1996. In 2009, a law introduced stalking as a type of punishable offence. In 2013, the Council of Europe convention on violence against women and domestic violence (the so-called Istanbul Convention) became law by unanimous approval of the Parliament, but the network of anti-violence centres lack of funds and resource. Female genital mutilation has been prohibited by a specific law only in 2006. Also in 2006, the national hotline for victims of violence was established. The number 1522 is a toll free number available 24 hours a day. It works as a hub transferring incoming calls to the national network of local hubs distributed across the national territory. However, as at 2014, there are still many areas of the country that are not covered by the service. However, according to the European Parliament, «it has to be noted that the legislation addressing violence against women does not stem from an open public debate and a shared cultural approach», and the legislation «is slowly integrating the international requirement». Finally, the National Action Plan on Violence against Women issued in 2011 «has been a missed opportunity» since «it has been drafted without consultation with the stakeholders, it lacks clear objectives, and it has not been funded appropriately by the central government», because of the strong retrenchments in the Italian public expenditure.
Legislation. The problem of efficient institutional mechanisms for promoting, enacting and monitoring legislation on gender equality in Italy «has never been satisfactorily solved at the national level of central government». The action of the Minister «has always been impaired by lack of resources, short terms of office (nine ministers in 18 years), and sometimes even lack of experience in gender issues». Furthermore, the importance of gender inequality VS other discriminations has been interpreted by each minister in a different way.
Health. In Italy the overall prevailing approach to women's health is still within the framework of gynaecological specialisation and reproductive health. Abortion is regulated by the law since 1978, but the same law «is periodically subject to attempts to modify it». At the same time conscientious objection of staff of gynaecological surgeries is allowed. Since the share of objectors is high and increasing, this «is severely hindering the implementation of the law». In Europe «it is cause for concern» the excessive number of Caesarean sections on the total number of deliveries, compared to other advanced countries. In 2011, there have been 377 Caesarean sections per thousand deliveries. It has been highlighted that this is the result of «opportunist behaviours on the side of ASLs that gain higher reimbursement opting for medicalisation of deliveries».
According to the European Gender Equality Index Italy is ranked amongst the countries in the EU with the lowest gender equality, revealed a study from the European Parliament. Italian performance is above the EU average in one area only, namely health, thanks to Italian women’s long life-expectancy. «In any other respect the situation is far from being satisfactory». Policies to re-address the gender unbalance «have been cautious», while progress in the legal framework has been promoted mainly by Directives coming from the EU or by pressures of the civil society. More in general, «Italy lacks of a proper gender infrastructure at central level to promote, coordinate and monitor gender-equality initiatives». According to "The policy on gender equality in Italy" report, the in-depth analysis for the committee on Women’s rights and gender equality, some legislations have been introduced but they are far from a full implementation, and the economic crisis is threatening some of the achievements. Right now the overall supply of care services that are meant to support female employment «is weak and affected by budget cuts». This is particularly true as regards services for the elderly and out-of-school childcare, «since little investments can be expected in this area». Women’s employment and economic independence is jeopardised both by increasing difficulties in reconciling work and family life and by the increasing loss of jobs in the service sector in the second wave of the crisis since 2010. Italy is not a country for women. The overall picture which emerges from the report is that «in many fields Italy is still far from reaching satisfactory results in gender equality, in spite of relevant progress under the pressure of women’s movement, civil society and European legislation». Criticalities are a lot, and the report explain in detail where gender equality is still missing.
Employment. Female employment rates remain low, especially in Southern Italy and in general for women with low education.
Anti-discrimination laws have been adopted, but gender gaps are still large. Career advancement is difficult, and women are over-represented in atypical and precarious jobs. At political level «Italy has never elaborated an effective strategy to favour the inclusion of women into the labour market».
Maternity leave. Maternity is protected by law. However in the productive context of Italy, where 95% of firms have fewer than 10 employees, employers who fear long absences of their female workforce sometimes resort to the unlawful practice of asking young women to sign an undated letter of resignation, to be used in case of pregnancy to justify their dismissal. A law to fight the phenomenon was introduced in 2007 (Law 188/2007), repealed a few months later by the newly-elected Berlusconi government, and partially reintroduced in 2012 without significant results. It is currently again under discussion in parliament.
Pension system. No provision is envisaged for re-balancing the huge disparities which exist in terms of income between retired men and women. The average pension of a woman over 65 is even now around 69% of that of a man of the same age. The gap could soon become dramatic when the amount of the pension is calculated exclusively on the basis of the contributions the worker has paid, given the over-representation of women in precarious jobs and the many interruptions in their work lives.
Political decision-making. The low participation of Italian women in political decision-making has characterized the history of the Republic. Women's participation in public life is not well established in Italy and their presence in national politics is not supported by gender quotas, although gender quotas are in force at local level. Nowadays parties may have voluntary quotas
but this is not a consolidated and widespread practice. The only sanction presently in force at national level (covering national, regional and European elections) is the law 96 issued in 2012 which curtails by 5% public contribution to parties that do not respect the proportion of 2/3 maximum of the same sex candidates in their lists.
Social protection. Sexual violence was acknowledged as a «crime against the person» only in 1996. In 2009, a law introduced stalking as a type of punishable offence. In 2013, the Council of Europe convention on violence against women and domestic violence (the so-called Istanbul Convention) became law by unanimous approval of the Parliament, but the network of anti-violence centres lack of funds and resource. Female genital mutilation has been prohibited by a specific law only in 2006. Also in 2006, the national hotline for victims of violence was established. The number 1522 is a toll free number available 24 hours a day. It works as a hub transferring incoming calls to the national network of local hubs distributed across the national territory. However, as at 2014, there are still many areas of the country that are not covered by the service. However, according to the European Parliament, «it has to be noted that the legislation addressing violence against women does not stem from an open public debate and a shared cultural approach», and the legislation «is slowly integrating the international requirement». Finally, the National Action Plan on Violence against Women issued in 2011 «has been a missed opportunity» since «it has been drafted without consultation with the stakeholders, it lacks clear objectives, and it has not been funded appropriately by the central government», because of the strong retrenchments in the Italian public expenditure.
Legislation. The problem of efficient institutional mechanisms for promoting, enacting and monitoring legislation on gender equality in Italy «has never been satisfactorily solved at the national level of central government». The action of the Minister «has always been impaired by lack of resources, short terms of office (nine ministers in 18 years), and sometimes even lack of experience in gender issues». Furthermore, the importance of gender inequality VS other discriminations has been interpreted by each minister in a different way.
Health. In Italy the overall prevailing approach to women's health is still within the framework of gynaecological specialisation and reproductive health. Abortion is regulated by the law since 1978, but the same law «is periodically subject to attempts to modify it». At the same time conscientious objection of staff of gynaecological surgeries is allowed. Since the share of objectors is high and increasing, this «is severely hindering the implementation of the law». In Europe «it is cause for concern» the excessive number of Caesarean sections on the total number of deliveries, compared to other advanced countries. In 2011, there have been 377 Caesarean sections per thousand deliveries. It has been highlighted that this is the result of «opportunist behaviours on the side of ASLs that gain higher reimbursement opting for medicalisation of deliveries».
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