Bill

Labour, PD proposal against involuntary part-time for women

56.2 per cent of male and female workers - who work part-time - do so involuntarily. The proposed Bill addresses the contractual and working conditions of part-time work

by Martina Amante

16 July 2025

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Involuntary part-time work is a phenomenon that affects 3 million people, and of these, it is mostly women who suffer the worst effects. The bill for a new regulation of part-time work, first signed by Susanna Camusso (Democratic Party) was presented at a press conference in the Chamber of Deputies. What makes part-time involuntary is the condition in which male and female workers do not choose this form of contract but accept it or suffer it out of necessity or the absence of other possibilities. More than half of the 3 million part-time workers, 56.2 per cent to be exact, are involuntary part-timers.

The objectives of the proposal

The Democratic Party's proposal aims to intervene on contractual and working conditions, counteracting labour instability by introducing innovative rules 'for the strengthening of exit channels from precariousness, such as transformation into a standard contract in the case of abuse'. Another aspect is 'combating black and grey work' by defending, moreover, the right to 'disconnection and reduced working hours for equal pay'.

A regulation to protect women

'Part-time is predominantly a women's story,' says Susanna Camusso. "Our proposal wants to ensure that part-time, starting with involuntary part-time, is not a trap of exploitation and mortification of women's work. The proposal wants to facilitate the reconciliation of work with periods of maternity leave or study, as part-time was originally conceived. The rule gives 'support to our proposal on compulsory and equal maternity and paternity leave,' Camusso continues, 'and places side by side with sharing rules a part-time as women workers have claimed it over the years: planned, transitional, reversible.

Thus, the Cnel-Istat report explains that part-time work belongs to women, especially if they have children: 'Almost a third of employed women work part-time and 41 per cent of working mothers 25-34'. Recourse to part-time employment makes it possible to reduce the difficulties of reconciling family and work commitments and, not by chance, 'out of the total number of employed women, 31.5 per cent, around 3 million, work part-time, against 8.1 per cent of men, around 1 million'. In particular, in the 25-54 age group, the incidence among men decreases even further: 'only 6.6 per cent of men work part-time, against 31.3 per cent of employed women, and it drops further (4.6 per cent) in the presence of children, while among mothers it rises to 36.7 per cent'.

The situation of young people and women

"The incidence of employment in conditions of contractual fragility remains high, affecting young people and women in particular". This is how Adapt comments on the Istat data on employment. "Only 63% of the employed over 15 years of age have a 'standard' (full-time and open-ended) job. Over a third of 15-34 year olds and almost a quarter of women work on fixed-term contracts or in involuntary part-time employment. Among the employed under 35, 28.1% have a fixed-term contract and 5.9% work part-time for lack of alternatives; among employed women, 13.7% are in involuntary part-time and 4.3% combine this condition with a fixed-term contract. These forms of vulnerability are directly reflected in wages, which are on average lower for both groups due to the higher incidence of temporary and low hourly jobs'.