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Guerrina, Roberta --- "Parental Leave Rights in Italy: Reconciling Gender Ideologies with the Demands of Europeanization" [2011] ELECD 867; in Busby, Nicole; James, Grace (eds), "Families, Care-giving and Paid Work" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Families, Care-giving and Paid Work

Editor(s): Busby, Nicole; James, Grace

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849802628

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Parental Leave Rights in Italy: Reconciling Gender Ideologies with the Demands of Europeanization

Author(s): Guerrina, Roberta

Number of pages: 12

Extract:

6. Parental leave rights in Italy:
reconciling gender ideologies with
the demands of Europeanization
Roberta Guerrina

INTRODUCTION
Italy provides an interesting case study for the analysis of reconciliation
policies in Europe. One of the first European states to ratify an extensive
regulatory framework for the protection of working mothers and pregnant
workers, it also has one of the worst track records when it comes to
promoting equality of opportunities and women's access to employment.
The level and depth of formal and informal discrimination against women
has been widely documented, highlighting the pervasive nature of gender
inequalities in the country. Berlusconi's leadership style and the conten-
tious nature of his appointments to key government positions, such as
former glamour model Maria Cafagna as Equal Opportunities Minister,
are indicative of the gender ideologies at work within state structures
(Valentini 1997; Guerrina 2005; Hausmann et al. 2009).
Mainstream public policy literature struggles to find an appropriate
category for the Italian welfare regime. Focusing on the centrality of the
family, it is often categorized as belonging to the Mediterranean model.
However, vast regional differences in terms of economic performance,
political participation and social norms produce a complex scenario for the
analysis of social policies (Guadagnini and DonĂ  2007: 164; Velluti 2008).
Jane Lewis's (1992) typology of male breadwinner states perhaps provides a
more useful way of thinking about the relationship between the function of
care and social inequalities. Despite her recent shift away from this particu-
lar typology in favour of ...


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