Lto the share of women between 25 and 34 years old graduates it is 35.5% versus 23.1% of men. Applause? Yes, many, and that’s it, because women’s advantage in education does not translate into a labor advantage. The Istat data contained in the Report say so (and confirm it). Education levels and employment returns. Female employment is still a big problem.
Female employment, women are more educated but work less
The female employment rate is much lower than the male one (57.3% versus 78.0%) and the gender gap is increasing in 2022. They are more marked than the EU27 average.
It’s true that the distance it shortens as the level of education increases (32.5 points for low titles, 21.0 for medium and 7.7 points for high). The employment rate among female graduates is 18.4 points higher than that of female graduates (only 5.1 points among men). Among women with a high school diploma it is 25.8 points higher than that among women with at most a lower secondary school diploma (14.3 points among men).
Neet, Italy is only better than Romania
Italy is also doing very badly on the NEET front. In 2022, the share of 18-24 year olds with at most a lower secondary qualification and no longer in education or training is equal to 11.5%. Between 2021 and 2022 it decreased by more than one point: there is some progress but the value remains among the highest in the EU (the European average is 9.6%). It is only lower than that of Romania (19.8%) and decidedly higher than the European average (11.7%), the Spanish (12.7%), French (12%) and German (8.6%).
Reducing school dropouts before completing upper secondary education and training is one of the priorities of the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in the education and training sector. The goal for 2030 is to go below 9%.. We have to work on it, yes.
The NEET share is higher in the South (27.9% versus 13.5% in the North and 15.3% in the Centre) and among foreigners (28.8% versus 18.0% among Italians). And Istat reports what the concrete risk is: “exclusion from the job market”.
Is a degree useful for finding a job?
The so-called “employment premium” of education is confirmed, in terms of an increase in the probability of being employed as the qualification obtained increases. But there is a slight decrease in the differential between the employment rates of graduates and those with diplomas, which had grown in the previous two years. It is the effect of the pandemic, reports Istat.
In 2022, the employment rate of graduates will reach 83.4%, a value 11 points higher than that of high school graduates (72.3%) and 30 points higher than that of those who have obtained at most a lower secondary qualification (53 ,3%). “Despite that, in our country employment opportunities remain lower than the European average even for graduates: the employment rate in the EU27 (87.4%) is four points higher than that of Italy, a difference similar to that observed for medium-low qualifications”.
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