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30 November 2019The percentage of Italian women at work is growing, but the gap with Europe is still huge: in 2018 - according to Eurostat data - women active in the labor market (employed and unemployed) between the ages of 15 and 64 were only 56 , 2% of the total compared to the average 68.3% in the EU, the worst figure ever.

The gap between men and women in work in Italy is 18.9 points, the worst after Malta. If we look instead at employed women, in Italy they are 49.5% of those of working age, the worst after Greece and about 13.9 points lower than the EU average.

Between 2009 and 2018 there was a consistent growth in women's activity on the past Italian market, again in the 15-64 age range from 51.1% to 56.2% (from 64% to 68, 3% in the European Union) but the share of employed women remains below 50%: in fact only 49.5% of women work (from 46.4% in 2009) with just 3.1 points of growth compared to over five of the EU average.

If we look at the 25 to 54 age group, the central one for the labor market, the employed women in Italy are just 59.4%, the worst figure after Greece (74.7% the EU average), with a progress of just three tenths of a point on 2009 (3.3 points the EU average).

Out of the market
In Italy more than one person in five between the ages of 25 and 54 (22.1%) is out of the labor market, so it is not employed and does not seek employment, the highest figure in the EU, but the percentage for women rises to 32.6%, at the top in Europe.

In practice almost one woman in three is at home and not interested in entering the market while the European average is less than 20%. In Europe, about half of women who are out of the labor market state that the situation is due to family commitments.

Waiting for retirement
The rate of activity for the older age group, the 55-64 age group, has increased substantially: in the EU between 2002 and 2018, on average, it has gained 21 points, from 41% to 62%, while in Italy it is advanced by 22.5 points (from 34.5% to 57%), mainly due to the restriction on access to retirement.

The increase in pension requirements has led to an increase in the activity rate of women between 55 and 64 years from 18.1% to 46.1%, while for employed women the transition has been from 17.3% of 2002 to 43.9% in 2008.

If we look at the data of the second quarter of 2019, the activity rate of Italian women has increased further, reaching 56.8%, but remains the lowest in the EU with over 43% of working-age women out of the market . Between the ages of 25 and 54, 68.3% of Italian women are on the market (80.5% is active in the EU) while almost a third remain inactive.