The European Council Directive 2004/113 / EC, of 13 December 2004, establishes a framework for the implementation of the principle of equal treatment between men and women with regard to access to and supply of goods and services, extending the protection against discrimination based on gender beyond the sphere of the labor market and professional life to other areas of daily life. In Italy this directive was implemented with Legislative Decree 6 November 2007 n. 196, which assigns the tasks of promotion, analysis and control of equal treatment in access to goods and services and their supply, without discrimination based on gender to the "Dipartimento per le Pari Opportunita" (Department for Equal Opportunities).
Within the implementation of the women in cultural life, several measures were adopted during the last years, such as:
- Female entrepreneurship. In 2013, the Government launched an activity to promote female entrepreneurship and women's self-employment through innovative tools that affect the difficulty of accessing credit. In 2017, an ad hoc website was also created, www.impreseitricioggi.governo.it, together with an institutional communication campaign.
- Gender quotas. Also in 2013, Presidential Decree 251/2012 on gender quotas in the administrative and control bodies of companies controlled by public administrations at central, regional and local level, established in Italy and not listed on regulated markets, came into force.
- Under the National Operational Program (PON) Governance and Institutional Capacity 2014/2020, Axis 3, the Department is the beneficiary, on the basis of the Agreement signed with the Agency for Territorial Cohesion on 25 May 2018, of the project "Methods and evaluation tools for gender mainstreaming". The project aims to provide methodological, operational and governance indications, to integrate the gender perspective in the evaluation of the interventions carried out in the context of public investment programs.
- The renewal of protocol (lauched in 2014) between the Department for Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and the representative associations to facilitate the possibility of access to credit by companies predominantly female and self-employed workers.
- The promotion of Google Digital Training to promotes the learning of digital skills, with particular attention to women who are preparing to enter the world of work. The training is an accessible and free program, regardless of your skill level, goals or background and primarily intended to acquire or consolidate skills in digital marketing.
The progressive result of the measures adopted is to strengthen institutional capacities, both through the development of innovative evaluation methodologies and tools, and through thematic evaluations, in order to effectively integrate the gender perspective in the planning and implementation of interventions. It is intended to increase the effectiveness of the policies starting from the evaluation of the impact they have on the lives of women. The gender assessment of planned policies allows us to see how they affect the lives of women and men, making this impact readable also to other actors who are present in the context, promoting the transparency of policies and the participation of citizens in economic and social life and politics.
One of the significative results of the implementation policies on gender equality in the cultural and creative sectors was the meeting entitled "Women for a new renaissance" between the Department for Equal Opportunities and the National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises (CNA). This last is divided into 5 representative: young Entrepreneurs, woman Entrepreneurs, Industry, tourism and commerce, Cinema and Audiovisual. The meeting showed the importance to investing in female entrepreneurship by encouranging the access to credit and the need to provide specific rewarding actions for women-run businesses.
Based on the most recent monitoring that the Department for Equal Opportunities has carried out on them, it emerges that, compared to April 2014, women have increased by 12.6% in September 2017, currently representing 30, 9% of the members of the administrative and control bodies of unlisted public companies. With regard to gender balance in the administrative and control bodies of listed companies and public companies, the Department for Equal Opportunities has created a database of professionals online for the PA, called ProRetePA., to contribute to promote the presence of women in decision-making and economic processes.
The data on banks' adherence to the Protocol stipulated between the Department for Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Banking Association (ABI) expressed positive trends: as of 30 September 2017, 36 banks - representing 39% of the branches in the sector - have signed up to the Protocol with a total allocated ceiling of approximately one and a half billion euro, resulting in a gradual increase in loans disbursed by banks on the lines of intervention envisaged by the Protocol. The deed of further extension allows for the continuation and consolidation of the activities so far successfully carried out by the banks and the signatory parties for the purposes set out in the Protocol.