In our province, the female employment rate has risen from 66.1 to 72.1 in two years. Tagliavia, secretary of the CISL union, said: "The numbers are an encouraging sign, but they're not enough.".
Ferrara is increasingly proving to be a land of women's work, but the parity remains far away. This is the picture that emerges from the report on the labor market from a gender perspective in Emilia-Romagna prepared by the Labor Market Policies Department of the USR and the Gender Policies Coordination of the CISL Emilia Romagna, which describes a region capable of growing thanks to the increase in female employment, while continuing to deal with wage gaps, greater precariousness and unemployment that is still significantly higher than that of men.
The most striking fact is the rate of female employment, which rose from 66.1 to 72 percent in just two years. This increase represents the best result recorded in Emilia-Romagna and allows Ferrara to surpass the regional average, which stood at 69.61 TP3T. Overall, the employment rate reached 84.41 TP3T for men and 72.1 TP3T for women, a sign of a labor market that continues to strengthen but in which a gap of over twelve percentage points between the two genders persists. The analysis highlights how the growth was accompanied by a significant decline in female inactivity, which fell from 33 to 28.41 TP3T over the three-year period. This indicator reflects growing female participation in the labor market and is one of the most encouraging signs to emerge from the survey.
The figures on employment quality are less encouraging. New hires confirm a greater prevalence of part-time and fixed-term contracts among female workers, while contractual changes primarily benefit men, with the move to permanent contracts. This trend continues to fuel precarious employment and less stable career paths for women. The unemployment situation also presents a mixed picture. While the rate remains low overall, the 3.1% for men and 5.6% for women still reveal a marked gap, with the female component continuing to record higher levels than the regional average. Differences emerge as early as entry into the workforce.
Data on graduates from the University of Ferrara show that women often achieve better academic results and, in some cases, even higher employment levels, yet continue to earn lower average salaries. For master's degree holders, the pay gap exceeds €240 net per month, while for bachelor's and master's degree holders, the difference is around €230. According to Giuseppe Tagliavia, general secretary of the Ferrara CISL union, the numbers are encouraging, but not sufficient. "The growth in female employment is good news and demonstrates that our region possesses significant potential. However, we cannot stop at the quantity of jobs: today, the real challenge concerns the quality of employment, the stability of contracts, and overcoming the pay gap that continues to penalize female workers.".
From the CISL secretary's perspective, the report also outlines the direction of future policies. "Ferrara has demonstrated its ability to increase women's labor market participation, but now investments are needed in work-life balance services, continuing education, and industrial policies that promote skilled employment. Only in this way can these results be consolidated over time." Tagliavia finally draws attention to the role of collective bargaining. "Local and company-level bargaining must be increasingly focused on reducing the involuntary use of part-time work, encouraging the transformation of stable contracts, and closing the wage gap. The data tells us that Ferrara is on the right track, but they also clearly highlight that substantive equality in the workplace remains a goal to be achieved.".
