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

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