Italy is not a country for women, international rankings (also) show this

Italy is not a country for women. In our country, the path to gender equality, which includes equal pay with men, equal representation in politics and economics, protection of rights and freedom from violence and discrimination, still seems long. In two international rankings, our country, although not in last place, is still behind many other countries in Europe and the world. 2023 Women, Peace and Security Indexwhich ranks the world’s countries by the status of women, places Italy in 34th place and 24th in Europe.

Developed by the Oslo Peace Research Institute in collaboration with the Women’s Institute at Georgetown University, the index is based on data that measures women’s inclusion, equity and safety using a total of 13 indicators, ranging from education and employment laws to perceptions of safety. and violence in 177 countries. This year’s Women, Peace and Security ranking, now in its fourth edition, takes into account 44 European countries, including the Balkans and the Caucasus, and claims that nine of the ten best countries for women to live in are European, despite obvious differences within the region.

Denmark tops the 2023 rankings, with a score more than three times higher than Afghanistan, which is at the bottom of the rankings. It is followed by Switzerland and Sweden. According to this index, our country is far from the podium and is even worse than Poland and Hungary, very conservative countries. Ukraine is at the bottom of the European rankings and Russian encroachment is increasing threats and violence against women, and the second and third worst countries in Europe for female participation rates are Kosovo and Ukraine respectively.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (Eige) also presented the results of the study.Gender Equality Index. This year’s index shows overall progress in achieving equality between women and men in the EU since its creation ten years ago. And here Italy does not particularly stand out for its level of equality. Out of 100 possible points, the average EU score is 70.2 (compared to 68.6 in 2022), Italy is below this community average and stands at 68.2, a figure that is still increasing compared to the past. which is a sign that the situation is changing.

“Since 2010, Italy’s ranking has increased by 14.9 points, the largest increase in the overall score of any member state, resulting in a larger ranking increase of eight places” to 13th, the report said. mainly due to improvements in the sphere of government (+37.5 points).” In Europe overall, the differences between member states are significant, with some recording notable improvements while others stagnating or even losing points in their scores, the study says. The percentage of women on company boards has risen to 33%, matching the percentage of women in national parliaments. This is a growing percentage, but still far from the 50% we could aim for.

“Over the years, the EU has made progress towards gender equality. But we also understand that this is not enough and that achievements are fragile. Today, only Sweden, with a score above 80 on the Index, is approaching gender equality. equality, and Sweden represents only about 2% of the EU population,” emphasized Eige director Karlien Scheele, who said “there will always be a reason to deprioritize work on gender equality. We can’t allow this to happen. We must act now. Together, on all levels. And we must celebrate victories. Regardless of size.”

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