OECD: girls better but earn less, wider gap in Italy

Girls and women perform better at school than men but have more difficulties in the world of work, as well as significantly lower pay. This is what emerges from the report 'Education at a Glance 2024' compiled by the OECD. According to the report, in fact, the gap between the grades of women between 25 and 34 and those of their peers is even widening, so much so that 54% of young women are more likely to obtain a degree than their peers. In all OECD member countries, women aged 25-34 are as or more likely than their male peers to obtain a degree (54% to 41%).

However, when entering the world of work, the figure is reversed: in the same age group, females are less likely to be employed than males. In Italy, only 36% of young women who do not have a high school diploma are employed, while the figure for males is 72%, in line with other countries. The situation is different for those who have obtained a degree: although on average in other countries 84% of women and 90% of men are employed, in Italy 73% of female graduates and 75% of male graduates have a job. However, obtaining a degree does not help to reduce the wage gap between men and women. In our country, young female graduates earn on average 58% of the salary of their male peers. And ours has the widest gender pay gap compared to OECD countries, whose average delta is 83%. In contrast, non-graduate women earn 85% of men with the same qualifications, one percentage point more than other members of the organisation.

Only 15% of women entering tertiary education choose to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics (Stem), compared to 41% of men. At the same time, only 4% of males choose to study in education.

The report also shows how Italy continues to invest little (and badly). In fact, we invest 4.0% of gross domestic product in education compared to 4.9% of the OECD average. On average in the organisation's member countries, the share of GDP dedicated to educational institutions (from primary to tertiary levels) has remained substantially stable at 4.9% in 2015 and 2021. Italy is among the countries where spending as a share of GDP has remained more or less constant at 4%.

Turning to teachers, between 2015 and 2023, the minimum salaries of lower secondary school teachers with 15 years of experience in Italy increased by 8%. Most of this increase compensated for the rise in the cost of living. In real terms (i.e. adjusted for inflation), teachers' salaries decreased by 6% over the eight-year period compared to an average increase of 4% in countries with available data. The high age at the teacher's desk is confirmed. The Italian teaching workforce is older than the OECD average with the share of teachers who are 50 years or older reaching 53% compared to 37% for the OECD average.