Equality?
A recently published book tackles the subject of women’s work in a concrete and down-to-earth way
Equality is easier said than done. In real life it’s a different story. So different that, often, in many companies, a good culture of production – which also includes real equality between men and women in the workplace – is still more or less a mirage. So, what can be done? It was in order to seek an answer to this question that Rita Querzè – a Corriere della Sera columnist – wrote her book ‘Donne e lavoro. Rivoluzione in sei mosse’ (‘Women and Work. Revolution in Six Moves’), which draws a crystal clear conclusion: “Talking about the need for a ‘revolution’ in the patterns of women’s work is not a luxury, but a necessity”.
Querzè recounts in just under two hundred pages (which provide for a quick, easy read), how, for a woman, the freedom to work fundamentally does not exist. But there’s more. Because in Querzè’s pages, we learn that 50% of women are unemployed, motherhood is still considered a hindrance and wives, mothers and daughters are usually the ones who take on the free care work (in as many as 70% of cases). Added to all this is the wage gap between men and women – which now stands at 16.5 per cent – and the heightened difficulty of pursuing a career at an age when companies tend to see young women as ‘in the balance’, preferably not to be relied on because they might soon have children. In short, examples of companies with a different attitude towards equality seem to be the exception rather than a rule that is spreading.
As the good reporter she is, Querzè illustrates everything by telling stories of women directly affected by these issues, not only describing the measures in place today, but also pointing out possible ways to accelerate change through reforms from above and a change of mentality from below. Each chapter of the book thus highlights a problem and at the same time proposes a possible way forward to address it (from credit to working hours, from wages to feminism). All this is aimed at both men and women, because – as she explains – only together will it be possible to build new and healthier balances.
Rita Querzè’s book is worth reading, it contains the seeds for a debate that has been kept under wraps or misinterpreted for too long and, above all, it contains the elements for a change of pace that must concern everyone. Yes, because the issue of equality is something that really concerns everyone.
Donne e lavoro. Rivoluzione in sei mosse
Rita Querzè
Post Editori, 2023
A recently published book tackles the subject of women’s work in a concrete and down-to-earth way
Equality is easier said than done. In real life it’s a different story. So different that, often, in many companies, a good culture of production – which also includes real equality between men and women in the workplace – is still more or less a mirage. So, what can be done? It was in order to seek an answer to this question that Rita Querzè – a Corriere della Sera columnist – wrote her book ‘Donne e lavoro. Rivoluzione in sei mosse’ (‘Women and Work. Revolution in Six Moves’), which draws a crystal clear conclusion: “Talking about the need for a ‘revolution’ in the patterns of women’s work is not a luxury, but a necessity”.
Querzè recounts in just under two hundred pages (which provide for a quick, easy read), how, for a woman, the freedom to work fundamentally does not exist. But there’s more. Because in Querzè’s pages, we learn that 50% of women are unemployed, motherhood is still considered a hindrance and wives, mothers and daughters are usually the ones who take on the free care work (in as many as 70% of cases). Added to all this is the wage gap between men and women – which now stands at 16.5 per cent – and the heightened difficulty of pursuing a career at an age when companies tend to see young women as ‘in the balance’, preferably not to be relied on because they might soon have children. In short, examples of companies with a different attitude towards equality seem to be the exception rather than a rule that is spreading.
As the good reporter she is, Querzè illustrates everything by telling stories of women directly affected by these issues, not only describing the measures in place today, but also pointing out possible ways to accelerate change through reforms from above and a change of mentality from below. Each chapter of the book thus highlights a problem and at the same time proposes a possible way forward to address it (from credit to working hours, from wages to feminism). All this is aimed at both men and women, because – as she explains – only together will it be possible to build new and healthier balances.
Rita Querzè’s book is worth reading, it contains the seeds for a debate that has been kept under wraps or misinterpreted for too long and, above all, it contains the elements for a change of pace that must concern everyone. Yes, because the issue of equality is something that really concerns everyone.
Donne e lavoro. Rivoluzione in sei mosse
Rita Querzè
Post Editori, 2023