I know it's not nice, but I think it's time to de-bunk a few myths about
women and
work in
Italy. I am speaking here from my own experience, of course. These are the factors that contributed to my opening my own business.
1. If you are freshly out of university, you have a
chance of getting a job with a decent contract which could turn into a lifetime contract later. The general (un-written, but certainly talked about) rule is that the employer must have the idea that you will work at least 10 years before making babies (not kidding).
2. Most of the women I know have Co.Co.Pro contracts, which means they do NOT have those fancy benefits that we Americans drool over, like lots of vacation, maternity leave, etc. The more education they have the more this is the case. This is a contract with minimum tax contributions by the employer and a very clear expiration date.
3. Almost all of the men I know here have the lifetime contract (with all the goodies). Level of education does not matter.
4. If a woman has the contract mentioned in point two, she should expect it
not to be renewed once she has announced a pregnancy (it's not legal, but there are lots of other reasons why your work is sub-par).
5. Myth 1: Women in the workforce are "baby-makers" who want to take advantage of the system. Women take jobs so that they can get paid for leaving for an extended period (while getting paid!!) once they get pregnant. This belief is held by men, but also by many women.
6. Myth 2: Once a woman has a baby, all she can think of is having another one, so it's best to give her a job with less responsiblity. (I only know men with this idea, and it happens all the time. A woman comes back after maternity leave, sometimes even after a minimal time away, and her job description has completely changed, her office is down in the basement without windows, etc. Let's punish her!! )
Other considerations:
If you find yourself without a job and you are in that magic window of about 30-45 years of age, it is VERY difficult to find a job. You cost too much and are high risk (it's that uterus thing!).
If you do free-lance jobs (as many teachers and translators do) you can only earn up to 5,000 euros gross without a contract.
I decided to open my own business when my last contract was not renewed (see point 2. I have never been offered any other type of contract while in Italy). I knew it was my only real possibility for moving forward. I decided that I was done having a "boss," especially a sexist one who routinely talked about women as being "Ok except when it's
that time of the month" (while the other women giggled on in knowing agreement).
By the way, I am a foreigner, so I can talk about these things openly with people, especially men who hold some of the wackiest beliefs I have heard about women. I have point blank asked managers about their hiring practices. One told me he ONLY hires women from 20-22 years old. Otherwise they "leave you (to have babies) before the honeymoon is over."
At my first job interview in Italy, I was asked about my "family plans" as if they were more important than my qualifications!
What the big boys don't seem to understand:
1. How many smart women decide to open their own businesses and have a child-friendly workplace.
2. That female employees, when treated like human beings, tend to have shorter maternity leaves.
3. Maternity is a permanent situation, but leaves are temporary. Get over it!
4. Women are multi-taskers. They can be moms and ALSO think about work.
5. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the World.
So, for lots of these kinds of reasons, I opened my little business. I got pregnant while I was independent, by the way. I worked up to a week after my due date (a week before the birth) and two weeks after the baby was born (I taught with her in a marsupial. My students didn't seem to mind).
Before opening my business, I was always a little worried (even though I wanted to start a family) about getting pregnant while I was working for other people for fear of what they (the MEN) would think of me. Now I think that is crazy.
Sure, I have not yet reached anything near my earning potential since I went independent (and I pay GOBS of taxes, which half what I earn anyway), but I negotiate my own terms and have higher status (Interesting: free-lance with a tax number, a libero professionista, has a much higher prestige than an employee who may make 10 times more money. It doesn't bring home the bacon, I realize, but it's better than feeling like a peon).
That, and, I only work with people I like. Period.
PS. Most men and women I know are NOT jerks. They are hard-working and NOT sexist. But all it takes is a couple of sillies in positions of power and we have a problem...
