Women and work: in Italy a fifth leave after giving birth and are paid on average 43% less than their male colleagues

Less paid than their male colleagues. Often precarious and in less strategic sectors. With few services available to help them reconcile life and work. In Italy, the world of work is still characterized by many difficulties for women. So much so that one in five ends up leaving it after becoming a mother. And our country ranks last in the EU for the female employment rate. The picture emerges from a dossier of the Chamber’s Studies Service, which highlights “a series of critical profiles”. First of all, seen in the European context, the female employment rate in Italy “appears to be – according to data relating to the fourth quarter of 2022 – the lowest among the EU states, being approximately 14 percentage points below the average” (the 55%, compared to 69.3% in the EU). Looking then at the national situation, there is “a gap also in the relationship between the male and female population in the world of work”: there are around 9.5 million employed women, compared to 13 million employed males. Furthermore, one in five women leaves the job market following motherhood: an aspect which, it is noted, “is of particular relevance as it indicates the difficulty for women in reconciling life needs with work”. The decision to leave work is in fact determined for more than half of women (52%), by conciliation needs and for 19% by economic considerations. Education, however, “confirms itself as a protective factor for the employment of women with young children”: with a higher level of education, in fact, the employment difference between mothers and non-mothers is very low. But female employment is also characterized by “a pronounced gender pay gap”. According to the latest Eurostat data, the average pay gap (the difference in gross hourly pay between men and women) is equal to 5% (below the European average which is 13%), while the overall gap (the difference between the annual average) is equal to 43% (above the European average, which is instead equal to 36.2%). In 2022, the average annual salary was “constantly higher” for men, the study highlights, citing INPS data: 26,227 euros for men versus 18,305 euros for women, with a difference of 7,922 euros. Finally, from the point of view of the characteristics of the work performed, the low participation of women in work is determined by various factors, such as reduced employment, largely precarious, in low-profit or not very strategic sectors and a clear prevalence of time, which concerns just under 49% of employed women (compared to 26.2% of men). Finally, critical issues should be noted in terms of services that could help women reconcile life and work, such as childcare: the provision of nursery schools is recovering after the pandemic (+1,780 places) , “but registration requests are largely unsatisfied, especially in the South”. With a greater penalty for the “poorest families, both for the costs of fees and for the lack of nursery schools in various areas of the country”. (HANDLE). PVN