Impact of the Crisis on female employment of Southern Italy

National and International context In Italy, female employment shows heterogeneous features with reference to both geographic distribution – a strong gap between Northern and Southern regions – and sectors of employment: women mostly work in the public administration, the tertiary and, as regards self- employed women, in SMEs in the trade and service sector.

National and International context The economic crisis has impacted on this already difficult situation and has worsened the structural and historical problems of female employment. Its consequences have been particularly serious in Southern Italy, as nearly half of the overall decrease of employed women (minus one hundred and five thousands women) has been experienced in these regions. This area already showed a low female employment rate, that is, twenty- nine point six per cent, compared to a fifty-six point one per cent in Northern Italian regions.

Structural aspects The crisis has determined a decline in female employment, emphasising existing gaps between men and women, Northern and Southern Italy. This is due to the following causes: –structural weakness of female employment, made even more serious by the age factor, as women between fifty-five and sixty-four present a lower employment rate; –territorial dualism, as the average Italian rate of forty-seven point two per cent contrasts with the thirty-one point one figure of Southern Italy where, rather than unemployment itself, the more worrying element is represented by frustration often leading to inactivity, even if the present- day crisis could push women to seek a job again.

Structural aspects –Gender inequality influencing flexibility, that is, a more frequent recourse to flexible work, particularly when three elements are found; –Gender pay gap, that is, differences in the wage level between men and women; –Social needs and care services: according to the CNEL, in a situation like the Italian one, with one of the lowest birth rate in Europe and where most men hardly take responsibility of family care, the cuts to public expenditures might reduce the supply of welfare services provided by local authorities and force women to get back to domestic life. –Impact on sectors with strong presence of female work force and on female entrepreneurship: many women are employed in the tertiary, textile industry, tourism, people care services and trade.

Possible actions supporting the income of female workers that do not receive unemployment benefit or other benefits; bonus to the enterprises that recruit new workers; services for the matching of labour supply and demand; requalification actions

Concrete Proposals The Italian Ministries of Labour and Equal Opportunities have included in the National Reform Programme (two thousands eight-two thousands ten) for the application of the Lisbon Strategy a plan aiming at favouring more flexible working times, i.e. developing part time: this is identified as a fundamental measure for increasing women employment and improving social services through programmes dedicated to women who enter back the labour market

The Calabrian situation The context analysis in Calabria highlights a peculiar weakness, that is, the lack of social services and infrastructures, as well as an employment situation disadvantageous to women. In particular, the female employment rate has been up to thirty point eight per cent since two thousands five, with a gap of twenty-six point five per cent compared to the male employment, of sixteen point five per cent compared to the Italian average and very distant from the Lisbon target. The gap with average Italian women is up to twenty-two points in the middle age class (thirty-five to forty-four years old).

The Calabrian situation The strategic theme of improving conciliation between work and private life is found throughout the regional programming. The planned actions belong to three priorities: –developing enterprises and workers’ ability to adap:actions in this context include premiums to enterprises who adopt innovative organisation models and to working women, helping them to remain in the labour market (i.e. vouchers for care services dedicated to minor, elderly and disabled people). –improving access to work: the planned actions here aim at monitoring the status of knowledge and application of Law fifty-three/two thousands; –improving human capital: the creation of conciliation services and the al location of vouchers aim at supporting the inclusion of women in life-long learning programmes.

Conclusions The present crisis is affecting both men and women, in different ways. It is suitable to analyse more in depth such differences, as the optical illusion of a higher female employment compared to other recessions and the underestimation of some data might lead to undervalue the crisis impact on female employment. Still, if both genders are part of the economy-problem, then women can be part of the solution. In order for this to be possible, anti-crisis policies need to reformulate completely the unemployment support systems and redirect investments towards social infrastructures.