Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the phenomenon of increasing gender inequalities that happen at old age regarding women’s pension. Moving from recent life-course theories and studies, this study analyzes the reasons behind gender-biased pension levels and how their cumulative...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1185 |
| _version_ | 1828977540125949952 |
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| author | Maria Letizia Zanier Isabella Crespi |
| author_facet | Maria Letizia Zanier Isabella Crespi |
| author_sort | Maria Letizia Zanier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the phenomenon of increasing gender inequalities that happen at old age regarding women’s pension. Moving from recent life-course theories and studies, this study analyzes the reasons behind gender-biased pension levels and how their cumulative effects result in (continuous) significant gender gaps. The article presents a European overview of pension gender gap, focusing on family and work-life issues in Italy. This is one of the first critical reviews of the small but growing literature and national data concerning the effect of gender inequalities related to pension gaps in Italy. In the past, research on the balance of welfare provision between State, family, and market has ignored gender, while more recent studies have barely explored how gender roles, changing over time, interact with the shifts in pension policies. Considering the effects of work-life balance policies since the 2000 Lisbon agenda process and its development, the study especially focuses on the Italian case within the European context. The article examines how the choices in work-life balance policies vary between different national contexts and welfare regimes, by highlighting the Italian case. In this country, welfare and social policy regimes remain very unbalanced, showing a lack of awareness of family and women’s needs, as in many Southern countries, and Italy is not able to give appropriate answers to these problems and to the question of the growing gender gap. This article finally shows the poignancy of structural and cultural reasons for gender differentiated pension levels in Italy, within the European context, according to patterns of employment, marital, and maternal status between earlier and later generations of women. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:59:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a6299abbeaf414bbda902d442474350 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:59:59Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a6299abbeaf414bbda902d4424743502022-12-21T22:56:52ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602015-11-01441185120610.3390/socsci4041185socsci4041185Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European ContextMaria Letizia Zanier0Isabella Crespi1Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations, University of Macerata, Via Don Minzoni, 22/A–62100 Macerata, ItalyDepartment of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, P.le Bertelli, 1–62100 Macerata, ItalyThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the phenomenon of increasing gender inequalities that happen at old age regarding women’s pension. Moving from recent life-course theories and studies, this study analyzes the reasons behind gender-biased pension levels and how their cumulative effects result in (continuous) significant gender gaps. The article presents a European overview of pension gender gap, focusing on family and work-life issues in Italy. This is one of the first critical reviews of the small but growing literature and national data concerning the effect of gender inequalities related to pension gaps in Italy. In the past, research on the balance of welfare provision between State, family, and market has ignored gender, while more recent studies have barely explored how gender roles, changing over time, interact with the shifts in pension policies. Considering the effects of work-life balance policies since the 2000 Lisbon agenda process and its development, the study especially focuses on the Italian case within the European context. The article examines how the choices in work-life balance policies vary between different national contexts and welfare regimes, by highlighting the Italian case. In this country, welfare and social policy regimes remain very unbalanced, showing a lack of awareness of family and women’s needs, as in many Southern countries, and Italy is not able to give appropriate answers to these problems and to the question of the growing gender gap. This article finally shows the poignancy of structural and cultural reasons for gender differentiated pension levels in Italy, within the European context, according to patterns of employment, marital, and maternal status between earlier and later generations of women.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1185old womengender gapagingwork-family balancewelfare statepensions policiesItaly |
| spellingShingle | Maria Letizia Zanier Isabella Crespi Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context Social Sciences old women gender gap aging work-family balance welfare state pensions policies Italy |
| title | Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context |
| title_full | Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context |
| title_fullStr | Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context |
| title_short | Facing the Gender Gap in Aging: Italian Women’s Pension in the European Context |
| title_sort | facing the gender gap in aging italian women s pension in the european context |
| topic | old women gender gap aging work-family balance welfare state pensions policies Italy |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/4/4/1185 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marialetiziazanier facingthegendergapinagingitalianwomenspensionintheeuropeancontext AT isabellacrespi facingthegendergapinagingitalianwomenspensionintheeuropeancontext |