Persistently low employment of women in some countries can still be ascribed to a traditional perception of women’s role in society. According to observed data and prevailing social and cultural norms, women have been bearing the primary burdens of housework, childcare, and other family responsibilities. The unequal share of care responsibilities between women and men further worsens the disadvantages of women in balancing public and private life, with an impact on their employment and health outcomes. In this paper we investigate the role of family responsibilities in shaping employment and health outcomes by gender, in Italy and France, during and after the economic downturn. We use data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for the time windows of 2007–2010 and 2011–2014. Our results support that gender differences in the share of responsibilities roles in the public and private sphere influence the employability and health perception of women.

Previous studies found a pro-cyclical relationship between economic downturns and fertility in Western countries, while less is known about the Great Recession’s consequences on Italy's fertility levels. Using macro-data from different ISTAT sources, from 2006 to 2018, this study investigates how changes in the economic context, specifically unemployment, have influenced fertility at the regional level. The study also explores whether and how this relationship has changed. Our findings reveal a pro-cyclical relationship between fertility levels and unemployment during the period under observation, more sensitive after 2013 and less homogeneous across macro-areas. A deeper understanding of these dynamics can inform policy interventions aimed at supporting fertility and addressing demographic behaviours in times of uncertainty.

Using a macro-panel data set from 20 Italian regions, this study explores the relationship between unemployment and fertility in Italy between 2006 and 2018. It contributes to recent literature on this subject by considering gender-specific unemployment measures and examining the influence of two important compositional factors on fertility responses, namely the presence of foreign women and daily childcare coverage, and the influence of both of these on the link between unemployment and fertility. The study reveals a procyclical relationship between unemployment rates, used as a proxy of variations in business cycles, and fertility. Positive influences of foreign women’s contribution and daily childcare coverage on fertility are uncovered, suggesting a potential mitigation effect on declining fertility trends during the period under observation.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) can manifest in various forms: physical, psychological, sexual, and economic. In particular, economic violence can mark the onset of other forms of violence, from which the victim may find it increasingly difficult to escape. A context of inequalities, whether overt or subtle, in fact enables such violence by reducing the capabilities and agency of specific groups compared to others. Theoretical approaches focusing on access to resources and the inherent dependence highlight that asymmetries between partners could set the conditions for violence to occur, fuelled by power imbalances operating at both micro and macro levels, among other factors largely through gender-based differentiations. But in the absence of gender differentiation as an organizing principle of the intimate relationship, how are patterns of asymmetry and dynamics of dependence structured within same-sex couples? The study applies a gendered and intersectional approach to the analysis of the conditions of economic dependence and vulnerability, in order to prepare the way to a further analysis of their impact across various domains, and outlines potential risk factors and their different manifestations according to gender and sexual orientation. Socio-demographic and economic indicators, including age, citizenship, education, employment, and property regime, are compared here, in order to explore asymmetries that may constitute potential risk factors of IPV and especially economic violence. The study uses a descriptive approach based on ISTAT data on marriages and civil partnerships (2019–2023). The approach presented here is applicable across gender categories and able to highlight the specific outcomes for each group. In particular for LGBT+ people, who are exposed to specific gender-based violence that can foster conditions of vulnerability, increasing the risk of dependence on a partner, and creating a vicious cycle that is often difficult to detect before it escalates into violence.

Volcanic risk management frequently encounters a significant gap between Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Assessment and subjective risk perception. This study addresses this issue by comparing communities exposed to tephra fallout from two contrasting volcanoes in Southern Italy: the persistently active Etna and the quiescent Vesuvius. A survey of residents in proximal (high exposure: Catania, Nola) and distal (lower exposure: Siracusa, Pisticci) zones assessed hazard knowledge, multidimensional risk perception, institutional trust, and preparedness. The results identify distinct socio-cognitive paradigms. In the Etna proximal zone, chronic exposure results in hazard normalization. Residents perceive a high probability of tephra fallout but dissociate this from personal threat, relying on individual coping strategies and disengaging from institutional preparedness. In the Vesuvius proximal and Etna distal zones, a preparedness paradox emerges: high theoretical awareness and willingness to adopt protective actions coexist with low practical readiness due to insufficient hazard-specific training. Geographical distance further differentiates perception. The Etna distal area maintains realistic awareness due to frequent volcanic activity, whereas the Vesuvius distal area (Pisticci) exhibits a distal shadow effect, where distance significantly reduces risk salience despite objective transboundary threats. Although trust in scientists and the Civil Protection Agency remains consistently high, sources of hazard knowledge vary considerably across communities. These results suggest that Disaster Risk Reduction strategies should move beyond uniform approaches. Risk communication should be context-specific, aiming to disrupt habituation in chronically exposed communities and to transform abstract concern into actionable preparedness in quiescent and distal regions.