For Draghi, gender quotas are not the right instrument to close the gender gap. So, how do you ensure women have equal representation in both politics and in the labour market?

1. GENDER QUOTAS:
EQUALITY IMPOSED
BY LAW
May 2021

2. GENDER QUOTAS
AND THE GENDER GAP
On 17 February 2021, Prime Minister Mario
Draghi told the Senate:
True gender equality doesn’t mean self-
righteously respecting the gender quotas
established by law, it requires guaranteeing
equal gender conditions in competition
[You need to guarantee] equal access to the
development of key skills that are increasingly
important to career progress: digital,
technological and environmental skills
So, for Draghi, gender quotas are not the
right instrument to close the gender gap.
So, how do you ensure women have equal
representation in both politics and in the
labour market?
“

3. THE FIRST (UPHILL) STEPS
TOWARD CREATING GENDER QUOTAS
The rights of eligibility for election
are strictly guaranteed to be
equal for all citizens as such and
any differentiation based on sex
is excluded
“
Following the approval of some
measures introducing gender
quotas in national, regional and local
elections, in 1995 the Constitutional
Court (ruling no. 422/1995) offered
its official interpretation of the
principle of equality and equal
opportunity as per Arts. 3 and 5 of
the Italian Constitution that states:

4. CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
TO ACCOMMODATE GENDER QUOTAS
In 2001 and 2003 two
Constitutional Reform Laws
officially introduced gender
quotas into the regional and
national election systems.
Constitutional Law no. 3/2003 introduced
Art. 51, paragraph 2 of the Constitution:
The regional laws remove all obstacles
to the full equality of men and women
in social, cultural and economic life
and promote equal access for women
and men to elected offices
“
The Republic promotes equal
opportunity for men and women
through specific measures
“
Constitutional Law no. 3/2001 introduced
Art. 117, paragraph 7 of the Constitution:

5. THE ROSATELLUM
Yet it wasn’t until the 2017 election reform
that gender quotas were introduced by
law through the “Rosatellum”, named
after the rapporteur for the Bill, MP Ettore
Rosato (at the time a member of the
Democratic Party, now with Italia Viva).
The Law states that:
❯ No list or coalition of lists in single-
member regional constituencies of the
Region can have more than 60% of
either gender;
❯ Multi-member constituency candidates
must be in alternating order (man/woman).

6. The result of the introduction of this Law
didin’t live up to expectations.
In the 17th
Legislature (2013-2018) 299
women were elected to Parliament.
However, in 2018, 334 women were
elected, only 5% more.
What happened? Although there was an
almost equal number of men and women
on the election lists, it is likely that the
parties resorted to tricks to get around
the effects.
2018: THE FIRST ELECTIONS
UNDER THE ROSATELLUM

7. WHAT HAPPENED
IN THE SINGLE-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES
In the single-member
constituencies, where it is possible
to win by a single vote, lots of
women ran in the less ‘safe’
constituencies and more men
ran in the ‘safer’ ones.
The 2018 political elections:
❯ for the centre-right: of the 139
male candidates, 72 were elected
(52%) while only 39 (42%) of the 92
female candidates were elected;
❯ for the centre-left: of the 137
male candidates, 18 were elected
(13%) while only 8 (8%) of the 95
female candidates were elected;
❯ for the Five Star Movement: of
the 134 male candidates, 59 were
elected (44%) while only 34 (34%)
of the 98 female candidates were
elected.

8. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
MULTI-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES
The number of candidates elected
depends on the percentage of
votes each party gets. So, the
first name on the list will certainly
be elected while the following
candidates have a decreasing
possibility of getting elected.
In ‘safer’ multi-member
constituencies, parties put women
at the top of the list because it
is more likely that the second
candidate on the list (a man) will
also get elected. However, in less
safe constituencies, they tend
to put men at the top of the list
because it is less likely that the
second candidate on the list will
be elected.
In fact, in 2018 247 men were
elected (64%) and 139 women
(36%).

9. GENDER QUOTAS IN PARLIAMENT
The most egalitarian group is
the Five Star Movement: 53%
of the candidates elected are
men and 47% are women.
Whereas
Italia Viva: 71% men and
29% women
Brothers of Italy: 70% men
and 30% women
The League: 69% men and
31% women
The Democratic Party: 67%
men and 33% women
Forza Italia: 62% men and
38% women
The most egalitarian group is
the Five Star Movement: 53%
of the elected candidates are
men compared to 47% who
are women. The least egalitarian
one being Brothers of Italy:
85% of elected candidates
are men.
Whereas
The Democratic Party: 68%
men and 32% women
Forza Italia: 67% men and
33% women
The League: 67% men and
33% women
CHAMBER
OF
DEPUTIES
SENATO

10. GENDER QUOTAS
IN THE REGIONS
The first Region to implement gender
equality under Constitutional Reform
Law no. 3/2001 was Campania, which in
2009, with law no. 4/2009, stated that:
for each list neither of the two sexes
may represent more than two thirds
of the candidates
“
Piedmont never passed an ad hoc
election law.
In 16 Regions there is also the double
gender preference: if an elector intends
to vote for two candidates, they must be
of different sexes.

11. The numbers seem to indicate that
they are. Before introducing gender
quotas, in the 2000 Regional
Elections in 15 Regions with an
Ordinary Statute 98 women were
elected to Regional Councils.
In the latest 2020 elections (in
Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Valle
d’Aosta, Veneto, Liguria, Marche and
Puglia), 152 women were elected.
Especially virtuous Emilia-Romagna,
where the number of council
women jumped from 10 to 20, and
Lazio, where it went from 10 to 16.
However, so far in 13 Regions less
than 25% of Regional Councillors
are women.
ARE GENDER QUOTAS EFFECTIVE IN THE REGIONS?

12. Gender equality is
again a key issue on the
political agenda for the
forming of the Draghi
government. Especially
for the Democratic Party,
where the three ministers
chosen by the party were
all men.
The debate within the
party was so heated
that, to compensate
for the number of men
in government, the
A STIR IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Democratic Party in the
Parliament appointed two
female group leaders: at
the Chamber of Deputaties
MP Debora Serracchiani
and, at the Senate, Senator
Simona Malpezzi.
Moreover, the party’s
new secretary, Enrico
Letta, elected by the
party Assembly on 18
March 2021, appointed a
Secretariat of 8 men and
8 women.

13. GENDER QUOTAS IN BOARDS
OF ADMINISTRATION
The Golfo-Mosca Law (no. 120/2011) states that at least
30% of members of Boards of Administration and Boards of
statutory auditors for listed companies and state-controlled
companies must be women.

14. THE GOLFO-MOSCA LAW
The 2020 Budget Law extended
the validity of the Golfo-Mosca Law,
which was to expire in 2022, and
raised the gender quota to 40%.
Italian stock market regulator
CONSOB oversees the
implementation of the Golfo-Mosca
Law and every year publishes the
Annual Report of Italian Listed
Companies. If a company fails
to comply, the CONSOB issues a
warning. If the company still fails
to comply, the company may be
sanctioned.
In February 2020 the Cerved-
Bellisario Foundation and the
Italian social security institute Social
Security Institute - INPS - published
the report “Women in Top
Management” on how the Golfo-
Mosca Law impacted the number
of women in companies. Eleven
years after it went into effect, the
gender quotas have achieved the
goals set but have failed to go
beyond the legal obligations.

15. THE PAY GAP
BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN
In Italy, only the data on the difference
between men’s and women’s average
wage shows that women earn 5%
less than men (in Europe the average
is 15% less).
A more accurate indicator is the gender
overall earnings gap measuring the
impact of three factors: hourly wage,
number of annual paid hours and
employment rate.
According to the gender overall
earnings gap, Italian women earn
an average of 44% less than men
(the European average is 40%).

16. THOSE AGAINST AND THOSE FOR GENDER
QUOTAS MAINTAIN THAT...
They are not merit-based. Women
may be chosen not for their skills
but simply because they are
women. It is better to safeguard
meritocracy, not create a fast lane.
They lead to something akin to
Indian reservations, in that, officially,
they ensure that women have
a role as political and business
leaders, but they don’t actually
improve their working status or
salary.
We need gender quotas to
implement the principle of gender
equality and equal opportunity
set forth in the Constitution.
They help increase the number
of women in positions of power.
Thanks to gender quotas, in some
situations, the number of women
has risen to almost 40%.
They are just temporary measures,
but essential to more quickly reach
the goal of true gender equality.
AGAINST
FOR

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