Beyond the slight improvements observed in terms of employment, the female presence worldwide is still limited in the economic and political fields: according to the United Nations, women head 17,7% of all Ministries in the world and of state represent only 6,6% of the total.
In Italy, the reduction of the gender gap between men and women in the economic, social and political fields continues to follow a tortuous path, but it is improving. According to the World Economic Forum, in 2015 our country rose to 41st position in the ranking based on a series of indicators relating to participation in the labor market, level of education, health and presence in government institutions.
Women in our country represent 51,5% of the population, but their presence on the labor market is smaller: in fact, they represent 41,9% of the employed and 44,9% of the unemployed, while their presence is predominant among the inactive (64%).
In the third quarter of 2015, around 9,23 million women were employed in Italy. In comparison with the third quarter of 2008, the female component is in better conditions than the male one. In fact, women recorded a growth in overall employment of 28 units, the result of a drop in the number of 107 independent female workers and an increase of 135 female employees.
The delay in Italian female employment becomes evident in comparison with the main European partners. In the third quarter of 2015, the employment rate of Italian women was 12,7 percentage points lower than in the euro area and as much as 23 percentage points lower than in Germany. The gap narrows if we look only at female graduates.
With regard to female graduates, the percentage of those specialized in the scientific and technical sector deserves particular attention. This indicator is considered at European level as a good approximation of the presence of highly qualified people potentially available to work in the field of research and development. In Italy, out of 100 female graduates between the ages of 20 and 29, 11 have a degree in these disciplines (against 15 males).
A positive note in our country concerns the pace of creation of new female businesses. In 2015, the number of businesses founded by women grew by 14.352 (+1,1% y/y).
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