Abstract

This paper focuses on the evolution of gender equality legislation in the Campania region, tracing its development from the initially innovative measures to the recent amendment of regional electoral laws, which introduced a novel form of affirmative action known as «doppia preferenza di genere» (double gender preference). This affirmative action has been also incorporated at the national level for both municipal elections and the election of the European Parliament. However, this model is deemed insufficient to ensure the effectiveness of gender equality in regional elections. Several factors contribute to the lack of gender equality in Campania. These include an inadequate welfare system that fails to keep pace with social transformations, and a highly inefficient bureaucracy incapable of leveraging the opportunities presented by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The concluding remarks are dedicated to the ongoing reform in the Italian Parliament regarding differentiated regionalism, as a potential setback for achieving effective gender equality in the Campania region.