Abstract

The article seeks to provide a long-term reconstruction - from the last decades of the nineteenth century to the present time - of how women's labour has been regulated by formal Italian law or by the Courts. For each period, the attempt is made to highlight the different conceptual references (capability, function, equality, equal opportunity, etc.) employed from time to time to regulate inclusion and exclusion, protection and affirmative action. Particular emphasis is placed on what had for a long time been the marginal role played in this setting by the principle of equality - and on the Italian legal system's late adoption of a substantial articulation of this principle, in spite of its solemn enshrinement in the Constitution (art. 3, paragraph 2). The article also attempts to cast light on the contribution made in this area by European law and jurisprudence in the framework of a complex and at times contentious dialogue with national law.