Italian female college graduates earn half the income of men

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 10 - Young women with a university degree in Italy on average earn roughly half the income of their male counterparts, or 58%, the widest gender gap recorded in the 38-country area of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), according to a report out on Tuesday.
    The OECD report Education at a Glance 2024 noted that Italy spends 4% of GDP for education against an OECD average of 4.9%.
    Meanwhile, according to nearly all the parameters available, female students obtain better academic results than their male counterparts and, in many cases, the gap is widening, the report said.
    And even though women perform better than men in education, the scenario changes when they enter the labour market.
    Women between the ages of 25 and 34 are less likely to be in employment than men with the gap widening for those who have a lower level of education.
    In Italy, only 36% of young women who have not obtained a high school degree are employed while 72% of their males counterparts have a job - the OECD average is, respectively, 47% and 72% - the report found. (ANSA).