Gender Disparity among Executives in Italy: Comparative Analysis and Regulatory Perspectives
Introduction
The Italian regulatory framework governing executives is formally gender-neutral, with employment contracts, compensation structures, and managerial roles defined without distinction between male and female executives. However, practice and statistical evidence reveal persistent disparities that continue to affect career progression, remuneration, and access to the highest leadership positions for women.
At the end of 2024, due to the application of regulations reserving a two-fifths quota of the corporate body for the less represented gender, the female presence in listed companies confirms the maximum values already achieved in previous years, equal to 43.2 percent of director positions and 41.3 percent of control body member positions. Despite this progress in Boards of Directors, women hold the role of CEO in only 2.2% of cases, and that of Chairman of the Board of Directors in 3.5%.
The Golfo-Mosca Law: a Regulatory Revolution with Ambivalent Results
The pre-reform context
At the time of the approval of Law 120/2011, there were 272 listed companies, with a total of 2,815 board members, of which 2,646 were men and only 169 were women. The boards of statutory auditors of listed companies had 817 auditors, of which 762 were men and only 55 were women. This stark picture from 2011 prompted the Italian legislator to intervene with legislation that represents a unique case in the national legal landscape.
The structure of the legislation and its Evolutions
Law No. 120 of July 12, 2011, known as the Golfo-Mosca law, introduced the regulatory obligation to reserve positions for the underrepresented gender in the administrative bodies and boards of statutory auditors of listed companies and public investees.
With the Golfo-Mosca law, Consob was designated as the independent Administrative Authority with progressive sanctioning powers: from initial warning, to monetary sanction, up to the forfeiture of the entire administrative body in case of persistent non-compliance.
The 2020 Budget Law established that the criterion of at least two-fifths allocation should be applied starting from the first renewal of the administrative and control bodies of listed companies after January 1, 2020. Subsequently, Article 6 of Law No. 162 of November 5, 2021, extended the regulation on gender balance in the administrative bodies of listed companies – i.e., two-fifths of elected directors for six consecutive terms – to companies incorporated in Italy and not listed, controlled by public administrations.
The Quantitative Results
Listed companies: a partial success
The most recent data from the Consob 2024 Report on corporate governance show that the female presence confirms the maximum values already achieved in previous years, equal to 43.2 percent of director positions. This represents a significant success compared to 6.3% in 2009, demonstrating the effectiveness of gender quotas in increasing female representation on Boards of Directors.
However, the qualitative analysis of the roles held reveals a more complex reality. Women continue to rarely hold the role of CEO (2.2% of cases) or Chairman of the Board of Directors (3.5%). Female CEOs are present in 20 companies, mostly small ones (representing 4.6% of market capitalization); while in 31 companies, a woman is entrusted with the chairmanship of the board (representing 12.8% of total capitalization).
The Gender Pay Gap
National data on the pay gap
The most recent ISTAT statistics reveal a concerning picture of the gender pay gap in Italy. In 2022, the average annual gross remuneration per employee is 37,302 euros. Female employees earn 6,000 euros less than male workers (33,807 euros versus 39,982).
The gap dramatically widens at the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy. The salary gap increases among professions with a reduced female presence: in the Executives group, it reaches a value of 30.8% corresponding to the highest hourly wages, both for women (34.5 euros) and for men (49.8 euros).
The pay gap increases with the level of education: it stops at 19.9% among employees with at most a middle school diploma, rises to 20.5% if education is upper secondary, and doubles, reaching 39.9%, for tertiary education. This paradoxical data shows how women’s greater investment in human capital does not translate into a proportional economic return.
The Jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation
The burden of proof in gender discrimination
The Court of Cassation has consolidated important principles regarding gender discrimination in employment relationships. In judgment no. 31054/2021, the Supreme Court reiterated that in matters of discriminatory employer behaviors, Article 40 of Legislative Decree No. 198 of April 11, 2006, establishes a principle of reversal of the burden of proof: once the female worker has fulfilled the burden of proving the existence of discriminatory practices based on sex in the company, it becomes the employer’s burden to prove that the treatment reserved for her was not discriminatory, but had other lawful explanations.
Indirect discrimination and part-time work
Particularly relevant is the Court of Cassation’s order no. 4313/2024, which addressed the issue of indirect discrimination related to part-time work. The public employer, by directly excluding the part-time worker from the selection for wage progression, also indirectly discriminated against her belonging to the female gender due to the assimilation of women as the dominant species in the broader genus of part-time workers.
EU Directive 2023/970
Pre- and post-hiring transparency obligations
Directive (EU) 2023/970 of May 10, 2023, introduces important obligations that must be transposed by June 7, 2026. Article 5 requires employers to provide information on initial pay or pay range even before the selection interview. Job advertisements must be gender-neutral and hiring procedures conducted in a non-discriminatory manner.
Significant is the absolute prohibition on asking the candidate for information on previous salary history: a measure aimed at breaking the vicious circle of wage disparities that perpetuate from one job to another.
Reporting obligations and tolerance thresholds
The tolerance limit for the gender pay gap for individual categories is set at 5%, not as an obligation but as a threshold above which the employer must adequately justify pay differences based on objective and neutral criteria. In the absence of adequate justifications, employers will have to carry out a joint assessment of remuneration in cooperation with trade unions.
Companies with more than 100 employees will be subject to differentiated reporting obligations: by June 7, 2027, for companies with at least 150 workers; by June 7, 2031, for those employing between 100 and 149.
European Comparison: Italy in the Continental Context
The comparison with the main European countries shows significant differences. Germany (17.7%) and France (13.9%) have recorded higher gaps compared to the European average of 12.7%, but this also reflects higher overall wage dynamics and greater female participation in the labor market.
Seven European economies occupy positions in the global top 10 for gender equality: Finland (2nd, 87.5%), Norway (3rd, 87.5%), Sweden (5th, 81.6%), Germany (7th, 81%), Ireland (9th, 80.2%) and Spain (10th, 79.7%), while Italy ranks much lower in the global ranking.
Conclusions
The Italian landscape of gender disparities among executives presents a picture of light and shadow. While on one hand the Golfo-Mosca Law has produced tangible results in increasing female presence on Boards of Directors, on the other hand, structural criticalities persist that prevent real substantial equality.
The implementation of EU Directive 2023/970 represents a crucial opportunity to address pay discrimination through more stringent transparency and accountability mechanisms. However, as the data show, the problem is not merely regulatory but requires a profound cultural change that addresses the structural causes of disparity: from the unequal distribution of care work to the persistence of gender stereotypes in career paths.
Italian companies are called upon to transform regulatory compliance into a strategic opportunity, adopting comprehensive policies that go beyond mere compliance with quotas. Only through an integrated approach that combines regulatory interventions, innovative company policies, and a profound cultural change will it be possible to achieve the substantial equality that, more than sixty years after the Treaty of Rome, remains an objective yet to be fully realized.
The Italian experience demonstrates that the path towards gender equality in top roles requires not only courageous legislative interventions, but also a constant commitment to monitoring, enforcement, and adaptation of strategies to emerging challenges. In this context, the role of jurisprudence, supervisory authorities, and social partners remains fundamental in transforming the principles of formal equality into substantial reality in the Italian executive work world.