Let’s Talk About Work | Barbara Leda Kenny

Barbara Leda Kenny discusses the persistent gender inequalities in Italy’s labor market and the challenges feminism faces today. She explains that, despite record levels of female employment, only slightly more than half of Italian women work and often under poorer conditions, with unstable contracts and involuntary part-time jobs. The root problem, she argues, lies in the unequal distribution of unpaid care work, which still falls mainly on women. Achieving equality therefore requires rethinking how care is organized and valued in society.

Kenny highlights that women tend to work in sectors linked to care and education, such as healthcare and teaching, where they remain underrepresented in leadership roles and face lower wages. Power, she observes, is still largely male-dominated, and the recent rise of far-right politics has further weakened women’s positions and rights.

Having identified as a feminist since adolescence, Kenny sees feminism as a collective struggle for justice and freedom. She warns that today’s greatest challenge is to protect feminist knowledge, institutions, and independence in the face of growing conservative pressures.

Three women who inspire Barbara Leda Kenny

• Argentinian feminists
• Polish women
• feminist economics

This is part of WP1 | T.1.2. PRODUCTION OF ORIGINAL MULTIMEDIA CONTENTS: RESEARCH, STUDIES, ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, TESTIMONIES OF WITNESSES