In Italy, there is no Women’s Equality Day (Giornata dell’uguaglianza delle donne). Italians celebrate International Women’s Day (Giornata Internazionale della donna) only. However, it’s never the wrong day to discuss how much gender equality matters in Italy—and everywhere else—or to learn more about women’s rights, both throughout Italian history and today.
Gender Equality and Laws That Changed Women’s Lives
Besides being one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, gender equality (parità di genere) in Italy is affirmed in Article 3 of the Constitution. However, as they say, tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare (easier said than done—literally “between saying and doing, there’s a whole sea”). In Italy, the gender gap (divario di genere, though the English phrase is commonly used in Italian) is a real issue. In the last few years, some things have improved, and overall, Italians seem to be more aware of the idea of the gender gap. Discussions have been sparked, but it’s hard to say that the issue is recognized in the mainstream. To better understand today’s situation, let’s see how a series of laws have changed women’s lives in recent history.
In 1945, women were granted the right to vote, and soon afterward, in 1946, this was complemented by the right to be elected. In 1963, women were admitted to any public office or profession; in 1970, divorce was introduced in Italian law; and in 1975, a series of substantial modifications to the family law were approved, establishing that spouses were equal and had equal rights and duties. 1978 saw the approval of law #194 legalizing abortion; in 1981, a single law abolished two relics from the past: honor killing and the so-called matrimonio riparatore—that is, the option (granted to men only, it goes without saying), in cases of rape, to marry the woman instead of going to jail. The rape itself was only very mildly punished, as it was considered a crime only against morality, not against a person. Since 2011, publicly listed companies have been required to have quote rosa so that women are adequately represented. Finally, in 2009, the crime of stalking was introduced in the penal code, and since 2013, femminicidio (feminicide) has been recognized as a specific type of offense.
Gender Gap: Are We Doing (Good) Enough? Ideas and Resources for Class Activities and Discussions
Noting that in 1981, honor killing was still a legal principle—that means not even 50 years ago!—but no longer is today makes it look like things have greatly changed. And that’s true, in a sense. Right now, Italy has a woman as prime minister and as secretary of the Democratic party. That was unthinkable in … well, not so long ago. However—especially given that 60% of people holding a degree in Italy are female—women are generally underrepresented in any relevant sector of Italian society. They have the short end of the stick when it comes to economic and education opportunities, health, and politics. Having two women in key roles is not enough when the rest of politics is still heavily male dominated. The gender pay gap is also a thing. Even though the women make, on average, 94% of what their male counterparts make—a gap that is still unacceptable—the most prestigious and well-paid positions are still occupied by men.
A lot could be explained from a cultural perspective. Italian is a gendered language, and that’s no one’s fault (maybe), but the resistance to introducing more inclusive language is remarkable. And how about the infantilizzazione delle donne (infantilization of women)? Why is it that women are called by their first names (if not with their roles as “mamma” or “moglie di”) in newspaper headlines, when their male counterparts are regularly—and righteously—called by their family names? This could be a springboard for an engaging class activity: Find online headlines talking about women and men in politics, sports (the Olympics are a hot topic!), economics, or any other “prestigious” career area and note how differently the sexes are treated. Any major newspaper offers hints virtually every day, and that could spark an interesting comparison with your own country or culture(s).
Another idea for digging into the issue is to look for statistics. ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) is thesource for Italian stats, and a lot of info (women’s employment, daycare availability, etc.) is available on their website. Moreover, the Italian government has a specific department (Dipartimento per le pari opportunità), whose aim is to foster and achieve gender equality. Why not search their website and report back on something interesting or surprising? Finally, the most interesting discussion could originate by just talking about your own experiences (not necessarily personal ones, but possibly related to your culture[s]) and contrasting and comparing them to the Italian situation as it appears from newspapers, institutions, stats, or maybe the instructor’s words. Gender equality might look far-off, but there’s a lot we can do: Educating ourselves about common issues and solutions adopted elsewhere is un bel passo avanti!
By Claudia Quesito
Also read:
Celebrating Women’s Equality Day: Classroom Activities & Discussions
International Women’s Day Recognizes Women’s Fight for Equality
