Is the Italian university ready for a gender leap? A regional perspective

TL;DR

This paper examines whether Italian universities are prepared to advance gender equality, analyzing regional data from 2000 to 2023 to understand persistent barriers to women reaching full professorships.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive regional analysis of gender disparities in Italian academia and identifies factors hindering women's progression to full professor roles.

Findings

Gender gap persists across all regions and fields

Barriers to promotion are consistent nationwide

Data highlights need for targeted policy interventions

Abstract

A discussion on the readiness of Italian universities to address gender-related issues from a regional standpoint is proposed. A statistical analysis is conducted on data of all scholars enrolled in Italian universities from 2000 to 2023 to investigate why the glass ceiling of the full professor position remains so challenging to break in almost all scientific fields and across all regions of Italy.