Despite the importance of family in Italy, there is a lack of family policy.  Italians have historically relied on strong family networks to provide care and services for Italian citizens.  Women are responsible for caring for their families, making it difficult to remain in the work force.   They provide the majority of childcare and do the majority of the household chores. 

The Italian work-family policies currently in place are adequate, but outdated and lacking when compared to the rest of Europe.  There is no public childcare and private care is very expensive, so the majority of parents rely on family members to provide free childcare.

  Image courtesy of 3Dflags.com

Families receive little government support when it comes to caring for their families. This lack of support contributes to the low female employment rate and low fertility rates.  Policies need to be more in tune with current attitudes to help alleviate women’s work family conflicts. 

    Population: 58,126,212

    Population growth: -0.47%

    Capital: Rome

    Language: Italian

    Religion: 90% Catholic

    Literacy: 98.4%

    Unemployment Rate: 6.8%                                                                                     Image Courtesy of CIA     

References:

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). March 19 2009. The World Factbook: Italy. Retrieved March 2009 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/it.html).

Top Corner Image Courtesy of Collington and Flickr