Italy Rejects Equal Parental Leave; Fathers Redefine Roles Online

Italy’s parliament rejected equal parental leave in February, but “dad influencers” like Diego Di Franco are reshaping fatherhood in a country still grappling with work-family-gender equality.

In Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy led by its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who has a 9-year-old daughter, women shoulder most care work and face one of Europe’s widest gender employment gaps. This hampers long-term growth as the population ages.

Economists and activists argue that this situation is worsened by policy imbalance: five months of maternity leave versus just ten days of paternity leave. An opposition-backed proposal to introduce equal, non-transferable, fully paid parental leave for mothers and fathers was rejected in February due to budget constraints.

Despite parliamentary rejection, Italian fathers are increasingly sharing daily childcare on social media, turning paternal care into a mainstream narrative. Diego Di Franco, a 45-year-old father of two with over 50,000 Instagram followers, documents his life as a primary caregiver while his wife works full-time. This arrangement remains uncommon in Italy.

For Raffaella, Di Franco’s presence was decisive for her career, giving her confidence to face challenges and embrace opportunities. Yet female employment in Italy stands at 53% in 2024, with the widest gender gap in the EU according to Eurostat. Women account for around 70% of voluntary resignations following childbirth, while involuntary part-time work remains widespread.

Experts link this difficulty in balancing work and childcare to demographic decline, warning that higher female employment is crucial for growth and public finances. More support for working women could encourage them to have children. Di Franco’s personal experience shows optimism: with his first child at kindergarten, he was the only dad; six years later, there were three or four dads.