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Italy gender gap and labor market challenges

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-19 12:50 UTC → 2026-08-19 16:42 UTC · added removed

Italy gender gap in labour and labor market challenges

Eurostat data released in late July highlighted a stark gender disparity in Italy's labour market, showing that women are expected to work roughly nine years fewer than men over a lifetime. The gap, attributed largely to motherhood responsibilities and limited family‑friendly policies, positioned Italy as having the widest working‑life expectancy difference in the EU. In early August, the Italian government announced a series of measures aimed at narrowing to narrow the gender pay gap and improving professional compensation. A new gap, including a decree transposes transposing the EU transparency directive on pay equality, emphasizing collective bargaining for gender‑neutral wage classifications. Concurrently, and the DDL Professioni bill, moving to the Chamber of Deputies, seeks to modernise regulation for free‑professionals and introduce welfare provisions intended to reduce gender disparities in sectors such as architecture and engineering. bill. Recent ISTAT data reinforces reinforced these disparities, showing a 25.7% wage gap in the private sector, where women earn an average daily wage of €82.63 compared to €111.25 for men. Sector-specific gaps include 23.6% in commerce and 15.7% in tourism. Regarding the DDL Professioni bill, Felice De Luca, president of Fondazione Inarcassa, noted the legislation aims to ensure “equitable and adequate compensation” and introduce welfare measures to reduce gaps in professional sectors. Furthermore, data sector. Data from Cna indicates that Italy’s expected working life for 2025 is projected at 33 years, which is 4.5 years below the EU average. This gap has widened from 4.2 years since 2015. The disparity is most acute for women, whose 2015, with women’s expected working life is at 28.4 years—significantly lower than years compared to the EU average of 35.4 years—contributing to a gender gap of 8.9 years. By August mid-August 2026, while Italy’s economic landscape presented mixed signals. The Bank of Italy recorded reported a record current account surplus of 30.4 billion euros, euros for the twelve months ending in June 2026, representing 1.3% of GDP, driven largely by a rise in the goods surplus. However, structural labor challenges persist. ILO reports indicate Italy lost 367,000 individuals aged 25 to 34 between 2014 and 2023, with while youth unemployment remains at 14.4%. Additionally, analysts have raised concerns regarding potential gas price increases for the upcoming winter due to low storage levels and supply risks.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-19 16:42 UTC Italy gender gap and labor market challenges
  2. 2026-08-19 12:50 UTC Italy gender gap in labour market
  3. 2026-08-17 14:21 UTC Italy gender gap in labour market
  4. 2026-08-04 09:55 UTC Italy gender gap in labour market

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