Introduction

Italy and Britain differ greatly in the level, type and pattern of women's labour market participation, in their normative and institutional contexts, and in the way that these have changed from the 1950s to the 2000s. In this chapter, I shall look at changes in the potential determinants of women's employment behaviour, as specified in the previous chapter (Figure 2.1). More precisely, I shall start by describing trends in female activity rates, in the overall and sectoral distribution of demand and in women's supply characteristics. The description is based on international cross-sectional data and is intended to give ‘snapshots’ of the Italian and British situations, in comparison with other European countries, before my longitudinal empirical analyses begin. I shall then outline changing patterns of family formation, and the explanations given for them, focusing in particular on the Italian low participation/low fertility equilibrium. Subsequently, I shall discuss changes in welfare state policies and in labour market regulations, with specific reference to those dimensions affecting women's movements in and out of paid work, as discussed in Chapter Two. Finally, by drawing on the existing empirical literature, I shall illustrate how in Italy, Britain and other European countries, attitudes towards gender roles and behaviours with regard to the gendered division of domestic and care work have changed across cohorts. As usual, the last section summarises. The Appendix contains tables setting out the main characteristics of the various reconciliation measures implemented in Italy and Britain from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Trends in women's labour market participation

The growth of female activity rates: the demand side

During the second half of the 20th century, women's labour market participation increased markedly in all the advanced countries. However, the speed of change and the level of participation reached varied greatly across countries. As Figure 3.1 shows, the female activity rate in Italy increased later and more slowly, and it is still one of the lowest among advanced countries. Between 1970 and 2005, the rate rose from 33% to 51% in Italy, but in Britain from 51% to 69%. Moreover, whereas in Britain the trend was one of a steady increase, with peaks from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, Italy recorded an initial decline and then a slight growth, which was highest from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s.