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Gender Representation in the High-Tech Sector in Italy: The Required Alliance Between Trade Unions and Women’s Associations

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The Representation of Workers in the Digital Era

Part of the book series: Dynamics of Virtual Work ((DVW))

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Abstract

Despite the steady increase in the number of women with degrees in STEM fields, their presence in high- and medium-technology industries still remains limited in Italy. Moreover, women have primarily been contracted as self-employed suppliers and thus face greater risks related to wage stability and their eligibility for welfare services. Given this scenario, the actions taken in recent years by a series of women's associations founded to undermine the logic of exclusion in the high-tech sector hold particular interest. This chapter, starting with qualitative analysis through in-depth interviews with leaders of these associations alongside with more traditional union representatives, attempts to understand both what actions have been taken and how and if coordination with trade unions has taken place. The goal is to analyse if and to what extent these actions have allowed women to increase their presence and visibility within the sector. The results highlight that these forms of representation support women's empowerment but are less effective in improving working conditions and access to social protections. Trade union actions instead remain mainly focused on bargaining while companies seem less oriented towards involving unions on issues such as training or reshaping discriminatory practices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy

    Luisa De Vita

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  1. Luisa De Vita
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Correspondence to Luisa De Vita .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Raquel Rego

  2. Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Economia Centro de Estudos Sociais, Coimbra, Portugal

    Hermes Augusto Costa

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De Vita, L. (2022). Gender Representation in the High-Tech Sector in Italy: The Required Alliance Between Trade Unions and Women’s Associations. In: Rego, R., Costa, H.A. (eds) The Representation of Workers in the Digital Era . Dynamics of Virtual Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04652-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04652-0_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-04651-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-04652-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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