Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Suzy Deems
School: East Grand Rapids High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Italy position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Women's participation in Italy derives from a historical perspective. Women were given a certain role in society that functioned around a home and they were not allowed to participate in the government. Then in the last seventy years their opportunities to vote and participate in office holding increased. It is necessary to break down the remainder of the patriarchal structure that still remains. Women need to be encouraged to study politics, run for office, join political clubs, contribute to their favorite candidates and achieve a position of equality in government. Italy was a patriarchal Catholic religious society and women did not participate in government until after World War II. They were then given the right to vote in national elections and to be elected to government positions. In the new constitution of 1948, it affirmed that women have equal rights. It was not until the 1970s through that woman in Italy scored some major achievements with the introduction of law regulating divorce, abortion, and the approval of the new family code in 1975. Italy has been slowly emerging and developing from this. Italy is very progressive with women in politics today. As if March 16, we just elected our 3rd women president to the Italian Camera, Luara Boldrini. The literacy rate of women is only slightly lower than that of men, as of 2011, it was 98.7% female and 99.2% male. Women are well represented in all academic subjects and 66% of Italian university graduates are female. Italy is striving to increase our workforce of women because only 80% of women who graduate go on to seek jobs. Women of Italy get paid the same amount as men if they hold a white-collar job. Blue collar women do not fare as well. Italy strives to be diverse and inclusive. We encourage all the other countries to come together in the global UN community to overcome this problem.
