Italy

Changing Role of Mothering

Mothering has evolved as a result of industrialization and migration from southern Italy to the north, secularization in the second half of the 20th century, and shifts away from traditional religious practices. Significant reforms include the legalization of abortion and divorce, accompanied by changes in sexual and premarital practices. De facto marriages are becoming more frequent. Being a casalingua, or housewife, was prestigious in postwar Italy, but the traditional family structure has changed as women have joined the workforce in greater numbers and Italian laws support family equality. The conflict between work and family is often blamed for the low birth rate. Mothers are almost exclusively responsible for housework and invest much time and effort in raising and nurturing their children.

Under the 1930 papal encyclical, Catholic women were declared divinely responsible for procreation and their children's education. Although baptism in the Catholic Church is almost universal, Italians distinguish between the private sacred and the public secular spheres. Many Italians favor laws the Church opposed, such as legalized divorce and abortion, and break with Church directives on birth control.

Under fascism, women were considered reproducers for the state to ensure national salvation. The fascist government criminalized abortion and provision of birth control information. Civil codes between 1939 and 1942 restricted women's ability to work, but norms to increase the birthrate and eliminate birth control were overturned in 1976. Family rights legislation in 1975 promoted women's equality within the family and required that authority over children be shared. Discrimination against hiring mothers is illegal; both parents are entitled to care for a sick child under age 8.

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