THE ROLE OF TAXATION IN PROMOTING WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT
THE ROLE OF TAXATION IN PROMOTING WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT

Summary/Abstract: This essay analyses taxation as a policy tool to promote women’s employment, focusing on the evolution of the Italian tax system. It argues that taxation is not gender-neutral: it can either reinforce implicit discrimination or support substantive equality.The study shows the limits of a formally neutral approach, highlighting how implicit biases—such as deductions for dependent spouses—continue to discourage female labour market participation. This occurs despite Italy’s shift to individual taxation after ruling no. 179/1976. Drawing on economic literature, the paper explains how different tax models create distortions, particularly through the “secondary earner bias,” which disproportionately affects women. To address this, the essay proposes measures that avoid explicit gender distinctions but achieve similar outcomes by favouring the secondary earner within households. This approach, while formally neutral, is structurally advantageous to women. Suggested tools include lower marginal tax rates, refundable tax credits, and targeted employment subsidies, calibrated through reverse progressivity criteria.

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