“Our government boasts the highest number of female undersecretaries in the history of Italy. We also appointed a woman as the head of the secret service for the first time ever. In any case, these are only the first steps. This year Italy has the presidency of the G20. In August, we will hold a ministerial conference on women’s empowerment for the first time in the history of the G20. We want to help female leaders around the world to empower other women“. Prime Minister Mario Draghi speaking, with a video message, at the “Women Political Leaders Summit 2021” underlines what is being done but above all how much there is to be done starting from Italy.
“Reducing gender inequalities must be a global priority. From a very young age, girls all over the world have to cope with cultural prejudices and stereotypes. The participation of women in the labor market appears to be 27 percentage points less compared to that of men. In some regions, this gap is more than 50 percentage points. Only 22 countries have a woman who holds the position of Head of State or Government. 119 countries – including mine – have never had one. Although there have been some improvements, progress remains very slow and there is even a risk of going back“, Underlines Draghi.
“Millions of girls every day – continued the premier – si find that they have to learn, at their own expense, that they cannot make their dreams come true. They have to suffer discrimination, sometimes even violent. They must accept rather than choose, they must obey rather than invent. Only because they are women. This situation is not only immoral and unjust, but also represents a short-sighted attitude. Our economies are losing some of our best talent. Our companies are missing out on some of the best leaders of the future“.
The gap to be bridged in Italy
The numbers have said that in Italy there is a gender gap to be bridged and for a long time now. Starting fromoccupation, which last March for women appeared to have slipped to 47.5% against a European average that travels around 60%. And this despite the fact that the girls in our country graduate earlier and better than their classmates. At the test of the world of work, however, they find it more difficult to enter, they hardly manage to make a career and in any case earn less than their colleagues for the same roles, even at the management level.
“Our goal in Italy is to invest, by 2026, at least 7 billion euros for the promotion of gender equality“Said the premier today, adding:”We are determined to increase the number of girls and women who choose to study technical and scientific disciplines. We want to expand early childhood and primary education services so that we can help working mothers. We will allocate funds to support female entrepreneurs and we will introduce a conditionality clause to ensure that companies hire more women.
The low percentage of women specializing in Stem subjects risks further disadvantage female employment in the near future, considering that most of the investments of the NRP will go precisely in the direction of the digital and ecological transition, mainly scientific and technical areas.
From work to politics. Until now, the role of women in Italy has also been marginal in politics. In 75 years of the Republic’s history, out of 4,864 presidents, ministers and undersecretaries who swore in the Colle just 319 were women. 6.56% of the total. “Over the past 15 years, Italy has recorded the highest growth rate in Europe in terms of the number of women present in Parliament. In 2004, women represented only 9.9% of the total number of parliamentarians. Today this percentage has reached 35.8%. Our government boasts the highest number of female undersecretaries in the history of Italy. We also appointed a woman as the head of the secret service for the first time ever. In any case, these are only the first steps, ”said Draghi.
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