How women’s work horizon is changing: an analysis of occupations across generations

Abstract

In 2022, despite the gradual improvement of the female employment rate, the Italian labour market still shows a significant gender gap. Although the growth in women's educational attainment has increased their participation in the labour market and maintained it even during the economic crisis of 2008-2013 and the health crisis of 2020, it has not yet translated into better professional qualifications for them. There is a double disadvantage for working women: "horizontal" and "vertical" segregation. However, a more detailed analysis of data on occupations by gender and age suggests that something is gradually changing. This study analyses the different gender composition of the workforce in specific occupational groups, comparing different generations (25-39 years, 40-54 years and 55-69 years), with the aim of identifying and quantifying the change occurred in women's employment over the last two decades.