Italian women are paid almost 60%
less than their male counterparts, a new study from the economy
ministry on the gender pay gap says.
The average income of women is 59.5% of the overall income of
men, says the report, said Economy Undersecretary Cecilia Guerra
in a hearing at the parliamentary budget committees.
She said the discrepancies were largely due to "the gender
specialization in paid and unpaid work, in which women more
frequently accept lower compensation in exchange for advantages
in terms of flexibility and hours".
But there was also "full-blown discrimination against women on
the labour market," said Guerra.
The report provided hard evidence of gender income inequalities,
Guerra told a joint session of the Lower House and Senate budget
committees.
Italy has long suffered from a big gender pay gap.
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