Overcoming Glass Ceilings, Glass Doors and Bottlenecks: Female Recruiting and Progression in Italian Political Science

Abstract

This article examines gender inequality in Italian academia, focusing on Political Science (SPS/04) compared with the broader Area 14 (Social and Political Sciences) and General Sociology (SPS/07), between 2005 and 2020. The period allows an assessment of changes over time, especially after the Gelmini reform (law 240/2010) and restrictions on turnover. Using original datasets and segregation indexes, we trace women’s representation across academic career stages. Political Science shows persistent gender imbalance from the outset: women are underrepresented among postdocs and junior assistant professors (RTDA), and this disadvantage carries forward through the entire career ladder. By contrast, Area 14 shows stronger feminization at entry with women forming the majority among postdocs and nearing parity at RTDA, but faces sharper barriers at promotion, particularly to full professorships. General Sociology follows yet another pattern: women dominate at entry and are close to parity at mid-career, but their presence declines at the top. These findings highlight distinct configurations of gender inequality in Italian academia.