2023 OUTLOOK

The advancement of women in society and the economy represents the greatest transformation of the last century: in most European countries, women have surpassed men as percentage of college graduated, female employment rates have increased, women have come established presences in areas traditionally occupied only by men. However, to this date there is still no country in the world that has achieved gender parity. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take a staggering 132 years before full parity is reached across the globe. The most advanced countries (Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden) have closed 80% of the gap. Considering four dimensions – economy, education, health and politics, the World Economic Forum estimates that 95.8% of the gap in health and 94.4% of the gap in education has been bridged, but only 60.3% of the gap in economic opportunity and participation, and an abysmal 22% of the gap in politics and representation. In this global ranking, which covers 146 countries, Italy ranks 63rd and, if we restrict attention to the economic component alone, the country drops to the 110th position.

The participation of women in economic life emerges as the most critical dimension for our country. The critical fact that characterizes Italy is its particularly low female employment rate. For at least a decade it has remained stable at participation rates ​​below 50%, which falls to 33% (meaning only one woman out of three is in employment) in the South of the country. With this employment rate, Italy ranks in the lowest rungs in the EU, followed only by Greece and Malta.

The pandemic has aggravated an already critical situation and exacerbated pre-existing gaps, jeopardizing the progress hitherto achieved. There has been talk of a "She-cession" to indicate the pandemic recession hitting women disproportionately. Unlike previous crises, such as the financial crisis of 2007-2011, which affected sectors dominated by male employment (industry, finance, manufacturing), the pandemic has negatively affected the service sector where many women are employed. European countries have reacted to the pandemic with substantial policy interventions. The recovery is evident in the indicators, but the pre-existing delay still needs to be addressed.

What can we expect from 2023? In 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, Europe approved the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, which requires member countries to establish and maintain minimum standards for equality between men and women in all fields of life. The difficulties of the pandemic have slowed down the implementation process. The new year will be decisive for getting the strategy back on track.
Similarly, national recovery plans identify gender equality as a strategic objective. In Italy, gender equality is a transversal and central objective of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR, in Italian). As such, it must be implement in all the reforms launched for the recovery. The recent national strategy for gender equality 2021-2026 approved in Italy reviews the fundamental objectives for the coming years: work, income, education, time, and power. The objectives are to increase the female employment rate (especially in the South), reduce gender wage differentials, promote the presence of women in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), promote a better balance between work and personal life, monitor and promote gender balance in top positions, also through new tools such as the gender certification that is becoming a requirement for companies. These are joined by measures of family policy launched with Italy's Family Act, and the development of an inclusive welfare system with the strengthening of nursery schools and daycare centers.

The year 2022 is closing with a historic passage in terms of corporate leadership, namely the approval of the EU directive on gender quotas for the boards of listed companies, after a very long process that began ten years ago. For once, Italy has been an example and a forerunner, having already in its statutes a law on gender quotas in boards of administration of listed companies and state-owned companies (Law 120/2011, known as Golfo-Mosca Act), which has proved effective in increasing the presence of women in corporate decision-making bodies (from 7% to the current 40%), also producing positive effects on personnel selection and market performance (see Ferrari, Ferraro, Profeta, Pronzato, 2022).

It is difficult to predict how national and European strategies on gender equality will be implemented over the next year, give the unstable economic context and the presence of major political changes characterizing Italy. Given the accumulated lag and the importance gender parity has for economic growth and sustainable development, it is to be hoped that equality between genders remains the top of the policy agenda of Europe's governments.