Active ageing is defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The design of active ageing policies intersects with different overarching societal challenges, especially ageing populations, social rights and sustainability. However, there are no previous attempts to review active ageing policies in the light of these challenges and the international policy objectives and targets that are guiding the international community. The aim of this study is to systematically identify, review and analyse all national and regional policies on active ageing adopted in Italy, by applying a conceptual framework derived from main international policy initiatives in the three areas. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a case study analysis was carried out per each relevant national institution and regional government. Standardised interviews were combined with policy document search, selection and analysis. Second, we performed a policy analysis in the light of a conceptual framework adopted. This latter was composed by nine policy domains, selected and integrated from principles and objectives of three overarching international frameworks on ageing—i.e., the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), social rights—i.e., the European Pillar of Social Rights and sustainability—i.e., the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Results pointed out that out of the identified nine policy fields, the major intervention areas by Italian policy makers concerned labour market participation, life-long learning, social and economic inequalities, health and well-being. Less attention had been given to issues such as gender and equal opportunities and sustainable cities. This systematic policy review is a milestone for understanding how active ageing policies contribute to address major societal challenges and what domains need further policy development.

In ageing societies, active ageing (AA) has been recognized as a useful conceptual tool due to its holistic approach to social issues and recognised benefits from it at multiple levels (micro, meso and macro) for addressing demographic challenges. However, one of the main problems identified in relation to AA, is to turn into practice, at the policy making level, the many positive aspects that it promises at the conceptual level, as is demonstrated by the available evidence based on experiences carried out in some European countries. As an advancement in this field, through an original research experience carried out in Italy between 2019 and 2021, this study for the first time provides a model for producing recommendations for policy making and policy implementation in the field of AA, by managing the main problematic aspects related to the operationalization, at the policy making level, of the AA concept, with the potential for replication in other countries. The main challenges were identified, as well as the way to deal with them through a model, for a proper operationalization of the AA concept, based, among other aspects, on a solid international framework concerning this matter, on a mainstreaming ageing approach (at the public policy level) and on a wide stakeholder participation through co-decisional tools. A multi-level (national-regional-local) perspective was adopted to consider cultural and geographical diversity, among other challenges.

While active ageing has emerged as a main strategy to address the challenges of population ageing in Europe, recent research has stressed the need to increase knowledge on within-country differences to promote active ageing through appropriate policy responses. This article draws on the Active Ageing Index (AAI) to capture recent trends in active ageing in Italy with a focus on sub-national diversity. To this end, we compute AAI breakdowns by region separately for men and women for four different years: 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2018. Then, we use linear regression to describe the geographical and sex-specific patterns of change in the AAI over the considered period. The results demonstrate the diversity of regional outcomes and trends in the active ageing of Italian men and women, indicating that the widening geographic gap deserves further consideration by national and regional authorities in designing and implementing active ageing policies. By showing the persistence of disparities in the value of the indicator to the disadvantage of women, results also suggest the need to further integrate both the gender dimension and the life-cycle perspective into active ageing strategies. This article provides an example of how the AAI can be used as a practical tool by policy makers to monitor active ageing trends and outcomes at the sub-national level, and to identify target areas that require further action.

This article builds on time use data to explore cross-country differences between Austria, Italy and Slovenia in unpaid labour and its implications in terms of gender distribution of total work. A contribution of this paper is to measure the ‘rush hour of life’ (RHOL) based on age spans in which individuals’ working time (including paid and unpaid work) exceeds their free time. In total, men and women work similar hours in Austria, whereas Italy and Slovenia show a gender gap with women working an average of approximately 50 min more per day during prime working ages. The different compositions and loads of total work are reflected in cross-country variations of the length and intensity of the RHOL, with Slovenian women reporting, on average, the larger squeeze of time. However, breadwinner arrangements differ considerably among the three countries, which can affect the amounts of work and free time available for men and even more so for women. Therefore, we further extend our analysis by developing a regression model to quantitatively assess the association between couples’ working arrangements and levels of the RHOL indicator for men and women. Results indicate a dual burden for women in dual-earner couples, squeezing out their free time. By contrast, women in male-breadwinner arrangements report the lowest amounts of total work. Breadwinner models show no significant relation to male levels of work and free time, with the main exception of Italy where men face higher RHOL in full-time employed couples.

This article analyses changes from 2003 to 2014 in the magnitude and directions of family time (i.e., non-market) transfers and in the gender distribution of total work among Italian couples.

This article builds on microdata from the Birth Sample Survey (BSS) carried out by Istat in 2005 and 2012 in order to analyse changes in the occupational status of mothers of young children. We aim in particular to broaden the understanding of the individual and contextual characteristics that can affect the probability of women who were employed during pregnancy of not returning to work in the two years following the child’s birth. The study contributes to existing literature on mothers’ employment in two main ways. First, we take into consideration the different nature - voluntary or involuntary – of the motivations for not returning to work. Second, we attempt to evaluate whether the likelihood of Italian mothers to leave or lose their jobs and the factors affecting these probabilities changed between 2005 and 2012. Our results confirm human capital investments and job characteristics to be among the main determinants of women’s employment continuity after childbearing. The probability of losing a job increased significantly for mothers in 2012 compared to 2005, probably as a result of the deterioration of labour market conditions during the recession years. Conversely, the probability of leaving a job was not statistically significantly related to the year; family characteristics - the presence of a couple and features of the partner’s job - were key factors in women’s deciding not to return to work after childbearing.