Legislative and policy framework

The general principle of equality between women and men has been enshrined in Article 3 of the Italian Constitution: ‘All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion, [or] personal and social conditions.’

Legislative Decree No 198 of 2006 established the National Code of Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, which is considered the Italian legal framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment.[1] The code assembles 11 laws on equal opportunities in a single text, aiming to harmonise the current legislative provisions on gender equality and regulate the promotion of equal opportunities between women and men in all areas of life. It also introduced the principle of gender mainstreaming, obliging the government to consider a gender perspective in its actions.

Before the introduction of national strategies on gender equality, Italy relied on regional or sector-specific good practices. In July 2021, the national strategy for gender equality (Strategia nazionale per la parità di genere) was adopted.[2] Covering 2021–2026, the strategy focuses on the following areas: work, salaries/income, competences, time, power and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives of the national strategy for gender equality

  • Create a fairer work environment with equal career opportunities, competitiveness and flexibility.
  • Increase women’s employment.
  • Reduce gender pay gaps by:
    • supporting women’s participation in the labour market,
    • enhancing women’s skills,
    • ensuring fair remuneration for jobs with equivalent socioeconomic value,
    • promoting economic independence for women.
  • Ensure equal opportunities in skill development and talent application across all disciplines, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, by:
    • removing cultural barriers and gender stereotypes,
    • ensuring fair gender representation in the academic world.
  • Promote the desegregation of skills in gender-segregated sectors .
  • Support women’s representation in positions of power and management.

The strategy is a de facto government commitment to promote measures for the integration of a gender perspective in all areas of social and economic life and policies.

There is no national action plan for gender equality to date. There are sectoral laws on specific aspects of gender equality.

Structures

Governmental gender equality body

The Ministry for Rights and Equal Opportunities was established in 1996, in line with the UN’s Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and EU guidelines on gender mainstreaming. Its functions were established in 1997 (by Decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers No 405 of 28 October 1997) and modified by later decrees. Its broad mandate includes representing the Italian position on gender issues at the EU level, preparing the government’s gender equality policies and implementing the EU equality directives, as well as engaging in gender mainstreaming.

Since 1996, the Department for Equal Opportunities (DEO) (Dipartimento per le pari opportunità) has been Italy’s main governmental gender equality body. Since 1997, it has supported the Office of the Minister for Equal Opportunities, now the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family (by the Decree of the Presidency of the Council of 12 February 2021). The Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family holds the highest level of governmental responsibility for gender equality.

Functions of the Department for Equal Opportunities

  • Promoting and coordinating government action aimed at implementing the policies concerning rights and equal opportunities on the ground of gender, with reference to the relevant areas identified in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in relation to health, research, school and training, environment, employment, electoral offices, and gender representation in economic and political decision-making.
  • Adopting and coordinating governmental action for the implementation of the national strategy for gender equality, in line with Article 1, paragraph 139, of Law No 234 of 30 December 2021 and the 2020–2025 EU gender equality strategy, as well as making use of the Cabina di regia interistituzionale (law decree of 27 January 2022, composed of relevant ministries (Article 3) and with the function of mediating the coordination of actions and promoting good practices at the local, regional and national levels (Article 2)) and the National Observatory for the Integration of Gender Equality Policies.
  • Promoting a culture of rights and equal opportunities, especially in the areas of information and communication.
  • Promoting a culture of women’s right to health and preventive care.
  • Promoting governmental action aiming to ensure the full inclusion of girls and women in the study of and training in STEM subjects, promoting their financial and digital education and combating gender stereotypes.
  • Promoting and coordinating government action aiming to ensure the full implementation of policies regarding gender equality in public work and the private sector (including with reference to the themes of women’s entrepreneurship and innovation), the harmonisation of the pay and pension gaps and the equal distribution between men and women of paid work and unpaid care work.
  • Promoting and coordinating government action on human rights and women’s rights by preventing and removing all forms of discrimination on any grounds, and promoting statistical surveys on matters of discrimination.
  • Promoting and coordinating activities on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment, equal opportunities and non-discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people.
  • Establishing the necessary initiatives on programming, coordinating and monitoring the national and EU funds for gender equality and non-discrimination.
  • Including the integration of gender equality in all internal institutional mechanisms.
  • Adopting the necessary initiatives for the planning, management and monitoring of interventions implementing gender equality policies.
  • Coordinating government policies relating to the promotion of equal gender opportunities, the protection of women’s rights and the prevention of and protection against any discrimination at the national, European and international levels, with specific attention paid to racial discrimination.
  • Suspending the adoption of acts of other relevant ministries regarding political and administrative issues in cases of persisting violation of the principle of non-discrimination and concerning all the delegated subjects (Article 5, paragraph 2, letter c, of Law No 400 of 23 August 1988).
  • Managing funds for the implementation of the national plan for the social and cultural redevelopment of degraded urban areas (Article 1, paragraphs 431 to 434, of Law No 190 of 23 December 2014), aiming to reduce marginalisation and improve society and the environment.

As of November 2024, the DEO consists of 64 employees, who spend approximately 50–75 % of their time on projects focused on gender equality.

The total annual expenditure for 2023 was EUR 140 744 121.00, with approximately 4.4 % of the annual expenditure involving administrative costs (personnel and overhead) and 12 % being non-administrative costs relating to gender equality. All administrative costs are funded by the national government, whereas 92.5 % of non-administrative costs are provided by the government and the remaining 7.5 % are provided by the EU.

A variety of departments and ministries regularly consult the DEO about new and/or existing policies, laws or programmes (in fields other than gender equality), although there is no legal obligation to do so. If the DEO is consulted, its advice and recommendations lead to related adjustments in 50–75 % of cases.

Independent gender equality body

The independent gender equality body in Italy is the National Equality Councillor (Consigliera nazionale di parità), which operates within the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.

Legislative Decree No 198 of 2006 (Articles 12–20)[3] and subsequent amendments define the National Equality Counsellor’s profile and competences, which are exclusively focused on gender equality. Every two years, the councillor must report to parliament on the application of equality legislation in work-related areas.

Functions of the National Equality Councillor

  • Monitoring women’s employment conditions and ensuring the equal treatment of women and men in the workplace, covering areas like employment access, career progression, training, pay and pensions.
  • Promoting equal opportunities in policies and initiatives.

The National Equality Councillor’s monitoring function, as outlined in Articles 46 and 48 of Legislative Decree No 198 of 2006, has been expanded through Article 3 of Law No 162/2021.[4] This law requires public and private entities with more than 50 employees to submit a report on the gender balance of their personnel. Based on the analysis of these submitted reports, the public administration prepares a report on the status of gender balance at work every two years.

The National Equality Councillor’s resources are part of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. Funding is granted annually by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, through the annual general budget. As of November 2024, there were four employees dedicated to gender equality, supported by 12 officers from the ministry for specific tasks, with total administrative costs of EUR 309 652.38. No data is available on projects costs.

There is no formal consultation procedure for the independent body, and the National Equality Councillor is generally consulted on gender equality issues only. When consulted, its input leads to related adjustments in 50–75 % of cases.

Parliamentary body

No parliamentary committee includes gender equality as a specific part of its activities. Previously, there was a Parliamentary Intergroup for Women’s Rights, chaired by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, but it was disbanded in 2018.

There is no system for the governmental body to regularly report to parliament on the promotion of gender equality; instead, this falls under the remit of the independent body.

Regional structures

Italy is characterised by significant heterogeneity in its regional territories. Article 117 of the Italian Constitution states that regional laws are to remove any impediments to the full equality of women and men in social, cultural and economic life and promote equal access to elected offices for women and men. The regions can thus legislate on substantive equality and gender equality issues.

According to Law No 53/2000, Italian local authorities are responsible for the quality of life of their constituents and have a specific mandate to design positive action plans to reduce gender inequality.[5] Most regional, provincial and municipal gender equality institutions are similar to those at the national level. Regional councillors assist in the analysis of reports on the gender balance within public and private entities. Furthermore, they can act directly in the case of collective discrimination at the local level. Regional and provincial councillors can also represent an individual employee or intervene in an employee-led process, depending on their territorial mandate. They are tasked with safeguarding anti-discriminatory access to rights in the labour market. Resources for the regional and provincial counsellors are embedded within the budget of the local authority.

Consultation with civil society

Consultation with civil-society actors can take place in various formats and throughout the policy development cycle.

Law No 234 of 30 December 2021 (in particular, Article 1, paragraphs 139 to148) establishes the National Observatory for the Integration of Gender Equality Policies. The observatory includes representatives from trade unions and associations involved in the promotion of gender equality.[6] The focus area of the associations involved is mainly women’s rights, especially in the world of work.

Non-governmental organisations, social partners and women’s organisations participate in consultations on an ad hoc basis.

Over the past few years, the DEO has allocated funding to specific projects, focusing on issues such as digital and STEM training or women’s economic participation in the private sector. However, no funding was distributed in 2023.

Methods and tools

Note: the methods and tools listed under this section were the focus of EIGE’s 2024 assessment. If certain methods and tools are not mentioned in this section, this does not necessarily mean that they are not used by Italy.

Gender impact assessment

Italy does not have a legal obligation to conduct ex ante gender impact assessments when drafting laws or policies. However, the 2021–2026 national strategy for gender equality mandates that all parliamentary commissions include gender equality impact assessments, alongside economic impact assessments, for all legislative initiatives, regulations and policies.

In 2018, Legislative Decree No 166 established a parliamentary studies service to conduct ex ante gender impact assessments for gender equality initiatives. This initiative is still experimental and not yet consolidated. However, preparatory work is ongoing to make these assessments mandatory and establish practices for evaluating the gender impact of policies and programmes.

Gender budgeting

There is a legal obligation to conduct gender budgeting under Article 8 of Legislative Decree No 116/2018 and Article 38 of Law No 196/2009. This obligation aims to highlight the different impacts of policies on women and men regarding budget, spending, services and time. Law No 196/2009 mandates this exercise be carried out on the state’s final accounts, analysing revenue and expenditure and using ‘equitable and sustainable well-being’ indicators to highlight gender gaps.

Article 10 of Legislative Decree No 150 of 27 October 2009 requires all public administrations to carry out gender budgets for their annual performance reviews, showing both organisational and individual results achieved with respect to the planned objectives and resources, with an indication of any deviations, and summarising the gender balance achieved.

The 2021–2026 national strategy for gender equality provided a strategic framework of tools to assess the gender impact of public policies. Further improvements are expected from the national recovery and resilience plan, which examines and reclassifies the state budget in order to promote gender equality, starting with the 2024 Budget Law. Additionally, from 2023, the Ministry of Economy and Finance must report to the chambers on gender equality expenses within 30 days of presenting the budget bill, based on information from all ministries.

In 2024, gender budgeting was reported to be used widely in most ministries.

Training and awareness raising

In terms of training, DEO employees regularly undergo training modules (at least once a year), albeit these are not formalised courses and participation is not mandatory. All DEO staff regularly take part in conferences and seminars on gender equality issues or for the presentation of the results of related projects. Furthermore, DEO staff regularly participate in meetings of the National Observatory for the Integration of Gender Equality Policies.

A working group established at the ministry in 2017 developed guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language in administrative documentation. However, following the change of government in 2018,[7] measures on gender-sensitive education, guidelines and recommendations have yet to be applied.

Gender statistics

Italy has strong legal obligations on the collection of sex-disaggregated data. The Prodi–Finocchiaro Directive of 1997 and the Nicolais–Pollastrini Directive of 2007 mandate the collection of gender statistics in public administration.

Furthermore, there are legal obligations for the National Institute of Statistics (Istat) to collect data disaggregated by sex. For example, in 2000, Law No 53/2000 (Article 16) specified that Istat is to collect data on Italians’ time use over five years and disaggregate this data by sex and age.[8] Within the Steering and Co-ordinating Committee for Statistical Information, which comprises public authorities and is coordinated by Istat, there is an agreement to collect data disaggregated by sex.[9] As such, all socio-demographic statistics produced annually provide for a gender analysis.

In 2022, Law No 53/2022 on provisions on gender-based violence statistics introduced the obligation for the national statistics system to collect and disseminate sex-disaggregated data.[10] Specifically, Article 2, paragraph 4, requires that all entities participating in the national statistics programme (including both public and private entities) provide, process and disseminate data disaggregated by sex.

Although Istat has no website or separate web page devoted to gender statistics, reports and publications specifically focused on gender statistics are produced on an ad hoc basis.[11] All statistics produced annually in the socio-demographic field by Istat provide for an analysis by gender, as a key variable for the interpretation of various phenomena, but regular (annual) publications on gender issues are not envisaged. Nonetheless, Istat publications focusing on gender and equal opportunities are numerous and sex-disaggregated data is included in releases, reports or books produced by Istat and published on its website and social media channels.

Monitoring progress

Italy's institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming stand below the EU average and show a decline compared with 2021.

Explore Italy's scores on the four key indicators on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming developed to monitor progress on Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action.  

Italy: Institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming

References