Italy calls for equal parental leave as study links domestic workload to women's earnings gap

Advocacy groups in Italy are campaigning for a law that would grant each parent a mandatory five‑month parental leave paid at 100 % of salary. The proposal aims to replace the current system, where mothers receive five months of leave but fathers are limited to ten working days, and is presented as a way to promote gender equity, improve family wellbeing, and address the country's low fertility rate.

A working paper released by the Bank of Italy quantifies the domestic burden on Italian women, showing they perform on average thirty more hours of household and childcare work per week than men. This disparity has an economic effect equivalent to a 50 % reduction in women’s earnings and accounts for about 70 % of the “child penalty” that lowers female labour market participation after childbirth. The paper argues that sharing domestic tasks alone will not raise fertility unless combined with expanded childcare facilities.

Both the legislative push and the economic analysis highlight the intertwined challenges of gendered care responsibilities, labour market outcomes, and demographic decline in Italy.