Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Italy (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the observations of the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions (CISL), the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), and the Italian Union of Labour (UIL) as well as those of the Italian Confederation of Managers and Other Professionals (CIDA) communicated with the Government’s report. It also notes the observations of CISL, CGIL and UIL communicated to the Office on 5 September 2023.

Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government in its report, indicating that: (1) the pay gap in the private and public sectors was, respectively, 15.5 and 5.5 per cent in 2021 (National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT); (2) in the second trimester of 2023, there were 2,534 women in comparison to 953 men in the health and education sector, as well as 1,179 women in comparison to 531 men in “other collective and personal services”; and (3) the average gender pay gap in the country was 5 per cent in 2021 (EUROSTAT). The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that wage differential data, collected by the Equality Counsellor under section 46 of the Code of Equal Opportunities (Legislative Decree No. 198 of 2006), has yet to be reviewed, and that this provision was amended in 2021 to extend the obligation of reporting on employee remuneration from enterprises with over 100 employees to those with more than 50 employees. These amendments also include sanctions for non-compliance and false reporting. Additionally, the Committee takes note of observations by CISL, CGIL, and UIL, indicating that the gender pay gap arises from factors such as horizontal occupational gender segregation, the undervaluation of women’s work, lower professional classifications linked to lower educational attainment, unequal distribution of family responsibilities, and differences in the amount of time worked by men and women (particularly in “involuntary” part-time) in overtime and shift work. The Committee further notes that, according to EUROSTAT data, in 2022 the gender pay gap was of 4.3 per cent overall (and at 15.4 per cent in the private sector and 4.7 per cent in the public sector).

The Committee notes the various initiatives reported by the Government to promote gender equality and the application of the principle of the Convention, including: (1) the establishment of the Gender Equal Pay Support Fund to ensure the financial coverage of interventions aimed at ensuring equal pay and equal labour opportunities for men and women; (2) the adoption of the National Strategy on Gender Equality (2021–26) with a strategic priority to reduce the gender pay gap, particularly in the private sector, through measures such as the adoption of systems to measure the gender pay gap at the enterprise level, the development of guidelines for the formulation of enterprise gender policies, and the enhancement of support measures for working parents; (3) promotional and preventive activities undertaken by labour inspectors to ensure the full application of relevant legislation on gender equality; (4) the realization of a public consultation on gender equality, by the Forum on Gender Equality, to gather citizens’ views on the issue as well as information on women’s situation in the country; and (5) the creation of a Gender Equality Certificate attesting the adoption of concrete measures to reduce gender gaps, including in respect of remuneration levels, which enterprises may request in order to access a variety of benefits, such as for example social security exemptions. As of 23 May 2023, the certificate was issued in favour of 305 enterprises. In this respect, the Committee notes CIDA’s observations that the certificate is gradually spreading among companies and that CIDA has taken action, with its Federations and through its managers, to raise awareness about the importance of the application of gender equality and the respect for diversity. The Committee further refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee asks the Government information on: (i) the number of Gender Equality Certificate granted and, if available, examples of the specific measures taken in the awarded enterprises to address the gender pay gap (such as, for example, gender remuneration audits, or awareness-raising measures); (ii) the gender wage differentials collected by the Equality Counsellor under section 46 of the Code of Equal Opportunities and any follow-up measures adopted; and (iii) the outcome of the public consultation promoted by the Forum on Gender Equality; and (iv) any awareness-raising measures adopted to promote the principle of the Convention, in collaboration with social partners. In order to examine the impact of the measures taken to address the gender pay gap and its underlying causes, the Committee also asks the Government to continue to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors and occupations and their corresponding earnings, in the public and private sectors.

Occupational gender segregation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, thanks to the incentives established with the Inter-ministerial Decree of 13 October 2015 on addressing occupational gender segregation and reducing the gender pay gap (and subsequent ones): 83,767 women were recruited in 2021, including with permanent contracts. It also notes that the Inter-ministerial Decree of 16 November 2022 renewed the list of sectors and occupations where women are underrepresented, i.e. with a gender gap of at least 25 per cent (such as agriculture, construction, mining, electricity supply, water supply and waste management, wholesale, transportation and storage, and public administration services) for the purpose of granting recruitment incentives, which. The Committee also refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the incentives, including statistics on the number of men and women employed in those sectors since the introductions of the incentive. Please also provide information on any other measures adopted to address the underlying causes of the occupational gender segregation.

Public administration. The Committee notes that the Government recalls that article 48 of the Code of Equal Opportunities establishes the duty of the public administration to implement positive actions to achieve equal opportunities between men and women at work, and further indicates that: (1) regarding the final evaluation of the Plan for Positive Actions and its impact, a number of activities were undertaken, mainly on promoting smart working (also known as agile work); (2) Law No. 113 of 2021 requires public administrations with more than 50 employees, except schools and educational institutions, to adopt a three-year integrated plan on activities and organization (PIAO) which encompasses also the type of actions once envisaged under the plans for positive actions referred to in the Committee’s previous comments; and (3) in 2022 the Ministries of Public Administration and of Equal Opportunities and the Family adopted guidelines on “Gender Equality in the organization and management of labour relations with public administrations” which also covers monitoring wage disparities between men and women. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact achieved through the implementation of the PIAOs on reducing the gender pay gap and addressing its underlying causes as well as on the findings of the monitoring activities carried out on wage disparities in the public administration and any corrective action undertaken.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, following the adoption of the Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, legal reforms are foreseen in relation to objective job evaluation methods. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the legal developments concerning the establishment of objective job evaluation methods following the adoption of the Directive (EU) 2023/970.

Enforcement. The Government informs that, following the amendments to article 46 of the Code of Equal Opportunities mentioned above, the labour inspectorate receives the reports prepared by enterprises with more than 50 employees containing information on workers’ remuneration levels, and can thus identify violations of the principle of the Convention. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that: (1) 202 interventions were done by labour inspectorates in 2022 to address violations of gender equality, including in respect of remuneration, followed by administrative measures, including sanctions; (2) the tertiary sector, notably accommodation and catering and wholesale and retail trade, was the most concerned by such interventions; and (3) gender discrimination in respect of remuneration accounted for 43 per cent of all cases of discrimination addressed in 2022. The Committeeasks the Government to continue to provide information on the violations of the principle of the Convention detected by the labour inspectors and other competent authorities, including details on the cases addressed, the sanctions imposed. In addition, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken to enhance the capacity of the labour inspection and all other competent authorities to identify and address cases of violation of the principle of the Convention.