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In Search of Equality 1948-2018. Seventy Years of Elections in Italy: How Are Women Faring in Terms of Power?

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In Search of Equality 1948-2018. Seventy Years of Elections in Italy: How Are Women Faring in Terms of Power? In search of equality 1948-2018. Seventy years of elections in Italy: how are women faring in terms of power? July 2018 The first general election in Republican Italy was held on 18 April 1948. In the first Parliament there were only 49 women, accounting for 5%. Almost 30 years went by before Italy had more than 50 women in Parliament: it happened in 1976. It then took another 30 years to top the threshold of 150 women MPs, in 2006. In 2018, more than 300 women were elected for the first time: with 4,327 women running for election out of 9,529 candidates (almost half), 334 women were elect- ed. Currently, one MP in three is a woman and, for the first time in the Republic’s history, the second office of the State – the president of the Senate – is a woman. And what about the government? No woman has ever been appointed President of the Council of Ministers. Over 1,500 ministers have been appointed in 65 differ- ent cabinets, with women appointed ministers only 83 times (5 in the current gov- ernment) – 41 times as ministers without portfolio. The path to equality is still long, even on a local level: only two Region Presidents out of 20 are women and every 100 mayors, 87 are men. The starting point The Italian Constitution acknowledges, under article 3, the principle of gender equality, which was further strengthened in 2003 following an amendment to article 51: “the Re- public promotes, with specific provisions, equal opportunities for women and men”. The electoral reform of 2017, law no. 165, introduced several measures to rebalance repre- sentation. Further rules are set forth under the election laws for the European Parlia- ment, regional and local bodies. Senate of the Republic Pg. | 2 Focus Figure 1. 18th Parliament. The elected MPs for the Chamber of Deputies and for the Senate Dark: men – Light: women Source: UVI-processed data A good 30 years and seven parliaments went by Analysis before we had more than 50 women in Parlia- ment: it happened in 1976. The 100 MP threshold In the first Parliament, elected on 14 April was topped in 1987 and 150 in 2006. 1948, there were 49 women MPs out of 982, that’s 5%: 45 deputies out of 613 in the Chamber of The leap we witnessed between the 16th Par- Deputies (7%) and 4 senators out of 369 in the liament (202 MPs, 19.5%) and the 17th Parliament Senate (1%). (299 MPs, 30.1%) was particularly relevant. In the 18th Parliament, which took office on More than 45% of the 9,529 candidates running 23 March 2018, 334 women were elected: 35% for the 2018 general election were women. (205 deputies and 109 senators). It is the Parlia- ment featuring the largest share of women in the Republic’s history. Figure 2. Women MPs, from the 1st Parliament to the 17th Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate) Source: UVI-processed data. For Parliament 18 the figures refer to the day the Parliament took office (23 March). For the other Parliaments, all MPs have been taken into consideration, including the ones whose term was terminated, the relevant substitutes, senators for life and sena- tors by right. The presence of women was calculated in terms of percentage vis-à-vis the overall number of MPs in each Parliament. Senate of the Republic Pg. | 3 In search of equality Figure 3. Women MPs from the 1st to the 18th Parliament (percentage) Source: UVI-processed data. For Parliament 18 the figures refer to the day the Parliament took office (23 March). For the other Parliaments, all MPs have been taken into consideration, including the ones whose term was terminated, the relevant substitutes, senators for life and sena- tors by right. The presence of women was calculated in terms of percentage vis-à-vis the overall number of MPs in each Parliament. A closer look. Women and Parliament A woman has been appointed President of the In 70 years, the permanent Parliament Com- Chamber of Deputies in 5 Parliaments out of 17: mittees chaired by a woman have been 30 (out of a 8th, 9th and 10th (Nilde Iotti, of the Italian Com- total of 450), 8 of which (out of 28) in the 18th munist Party), XII (Irene Pivetti of the Northern Parliament: 3 at the Senate, 5 at the Chamber of League) and XVII (Laura Boldrini, of the SEL party). Deputies. The Senate has elected its first woman Presi- Women have usually chaired committees deal- dent in the 18th Parliament, Maria Elisabetta Al- ing with constitutional matters, justice, healthcare berti Casellati (Forza Italia). and education. No woman has ever chaired the The first woman deputy President of the Budget Committee. Chamber of Deputies was appointed in 1963 (Ma- In the 18th Parliament, women were appointed ria Lisa Cinciari Rodano), and the first deputy for the first time as chairs of the Foreign Affairs President of the Senate in 1972 (Tullia Romagnoli Committee and of the Finance Committee (at the Carettoni). Overall, the Chamber of Deputies has Chamber of Deputies) and as chair of the Labour had 8 women deputy President and the Senate 9. Committee (at the Senate). Figure 4. Permanent Committees chaired by women: subject matters (Parliaments 7-18) Source: UVI-processed data. T-B: EU Policies, Labour, Public Works, Education, Healthcare and Sanitation, Justice, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Productive Activities, Environment, Social Affairs, Constitutional Affairs. Impact Assessment Office Pg. | 4 Focus Parliament Investigation Committees: from the 1st to the 17th Parliament With reference to parliament investigation committees – both joint committees and monocameral committees – out of a total of 99 chairpersons, only 11 were women. Women have chaired only five of the 51 joint committees (10%). • The first one was Tina Anselmi, who chaired the P2 Committee • Two Anti-Mafia Committees have been chaired by women, out of a total of 15 chairpersons • Four men and one woman have chaired the Waste Disposal Committee At the head of control, orientation and monitoring committees: • Rosa Russo Jervolino, in the 9th Parliament, was the only woman to chair the RAI watchdog committee, which has been chaired by men 13 times, including the 18th Parliament • Two out of seven Schengen committees were chaired by a woman • The Managing Agencies Committee was chaired by a woman only once, while men chaired it eight times • No woman has ever chaired the Copasir (Committee for the security of the Republic). It has been chaired by a man five times (including the 18th Parliament) • The only committee that showed a different trend was the Childhood committee, chaired five times by women and never by a man. A closer look. Women in government From 1948 to 2018 Italy has had 65 govern- Thirteen cabinets were formed exclusively by ments, led by 29 different Presidents of the Coun- men. Starting in 1983, under the Fanfani V Cabi- cil of Ministers. No woman has ever been appoint- net, the presence of women ministers has become ed President of the Council of Ministers. constant. In 1996, under the 1st Prodi Cabinet, a The first woman to be appointed undersecre- record 12 women were appointed (three ministers tary (for industry and trade) was Angela Maria and nine undersecretaries). The highest number of Guidi Cingolani, in the 7th De Gasperi Cabinet women in a Cabinet (ministers, deputy-ministers (1951), while the first woman to be appointed and undersecretaries) was recorded as of 2006, minister was Tina Anselmi in 1976: minister of under the 2nd Prodi Cabinet, the 4th Berlusconi labour and social protection under the 3rd Andre- Cabinet, the Letta, Renzi and Gentiloni Silveri otti Cabinet. Cabinets. Figure 5. Ministers, Deputy-Ministers, Undersecretaries, from the 1st to the 17th Parliament Source: UVI-processed data. Ministers: orange. Deputy-ministers: green. Undersecretaries: red. Senate of the Republic Pg. | 5 In search of equality The percentage of women ministers when a cabinet takes office is not always the same as it is when the cabinet is dissolved or terminates its mandate. The percentage of women in fourth berlusconi Cabinet was initially 19%, but it had soared to 27% when it left office (from 4 to 6 ministers); percentage in the Gentiloni Cabinet rose too, from 24% to 29% (the four women remain unchanged but there was a drop in men). The opposite happened under the Letta Cabinet, as percentage dropped from 33% to 26% (from 7 to 5 ministers) and under the Renzi Cabinet, from 50% to 31% (from 8 to 5 women ministers). Table 1. The ten governments featuring the highest number of women ministers: figures at begin- ning and end of term Cabinets Ministers Ministers without portfolio % of women Beginning of End of term Beginning of End of term End Beginning term term M F M F M F M F Prodi 1 16 1 16 1 1 2 2 2 15% 14% D'Alema 1 15 3 15 3 4 3 4 3 24% 24% D'Alema 2 16 2 16 2 3 4 3 4 24% 24% Prodi 2 16 2 16 2 3 5 3 5 27% 27% Berlusconi 4 10 2 10 2 7 2 6 4 19% 27% Monti 9 3 9 3 6 0 6 0 17% 17% Letta 8 5 8 4 6 2 6 1 33% 26% Renzi 8 5 10 3 0 3 1 2 50% 31% Gentiloni 10 2 10 3 3 2 2 2 24% 29% Conte 10 2 - - 3 3 - - 28% - Source: UVI-processed data More than 1,500 ministers have been appointed in No woman, from the fifth De Gasperi Cabinet 70 years of Republican history: women have been (1949) to the Conte Cabinet (2018) has led the appointed ministers 83 times (plus two temporary Ministry of Economy and Finance, nor the Minis- appointments): 41 times as ministers without port- try of Transport and Infrastructure.
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