Bosses and babies, women trapped in a box

Children usually have a toy box where they put all their dear toys when it is time to stop playing. Italian women put all their skills and knowledge in a similar box when they decide to build a family and have a child. The box cointains in both cases dreams, tools, possibilities and personal efforts. Women in Italy have a great access to education. They are better educated than men: almost 70% of italian women aged 25-34 had an upper secondary education compared to 60% of men, and there is a similar pattern at the university level.Finished the school and the university something strange happen in the labour market.

Employment rates are the second lowest in Europe just 46,4% of women work, higher only to Malta. Of those women 27% quit the job after the first child. The traditional role division has persisted: women are responsible of the household work and in the case they work they take a double bourden of work at home and outside. There is no help for working mothers, childcare for preschool children is really expensive. Children are more likely to be cared for by grandparents or the mother has to quit the job. Women are better prepared but they put their skills apart to be mothers, it is really often a mutally exclusive choice. Women don't reach the top manager postions, and less then 4% of members of largest quoted companies are women. Aren't women enough good to be bosses?or are there embedded prejudices that prevent it?

A low representation in the economic sphere is interwine with a low representation in the political sphere. The female members of parliament are just 20%, and in the world ranking Italy is at the 56th position as China and behind countries like Mozambico, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mauritania. With all these data I want to point out a big challange for italian women and for italy as a whole the challange is not to waste all these skills and talents. It's a matter of efficiency and equality as well.

Finally there is another obstacle for women's rights in my community that is the use of women's body and media. Tv is the main media and it casts programmes with nearly naked showgirls, we are bombing with images of naked perfect bodies. It is disrespectful and gives wrong messages to young girls.
As far as I'm concerned joining social networks it is an important step toward change. It is a step to create spread,share an alternative culture. A culture made by women for women, a culture that challanges the imposed role models. Because there are many ways to be a woman and every woman has the right to use her capabilities outside the toy box.