Why EU Work-Family Reconciliation Policies Fail in Italy: A Feminist Legal Analysis

<p>Following the establishment of the European Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC), the female employment rate in Italy is still ranked the third lowest in the European Union (EU) and Italian women continue to do twice as much household work as Italian men. Parents, especially women, struggle to find a balance between professional work and their family lives in a society that encourages the traditional gendered roles of the housewife and the breadwinner. The following study is a theoretical analysis of the Parental Leave Directive and the potential domestic influences that may prevent Italy from progressing socially towards gender equality. This study looks at the work of feminist authors Joan Williams, Arlie Hochschild, and Vicki Schultz to understand why the implementation of the Parental Leave Directive is simply not enough to generate social change in Italy regarding work-family reconciliation. The findings of the legal analysis in this study show that in order for Italy to move forward in gender equality, policies must be successful in eliminating the underlying political, sociological and cultural factors that perpetuate the traditional gendered family roles that revolve around the masculine norm. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in International Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

International Studies

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Orozco, Chrystal

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kathleen Kelly Janus

• Work-Family Reconciliation
• European Union
• Italy
• Parental Leave Directive
• Feminist Legal Theory
• Maternity/Parental Leave
• European Law
• Family Law
• Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Gender and Sexuality
• International and Area Studies
• International Law
• Law and Gender
• Legal Studies
• Politics and Social Change
• Women's Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/46

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.usfca.edu:thes-1053