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This paper critically reviews the European Commission Roadmap for equality between women and men (2006-2010) and especially the concept of economic independence for women and men. Economic independence, with reference to men, needs to be put in the historical context of the development of labour markets; a man's economic independence depended upon his ability to earn life for himself in the labour market. In addition economic independence needs to be understood in terms of family obligations and the history of marriage and divorce. As a policy goal the concept of economic independence is limited because it generally refers to an individual and does not take into account either family caregiving or the need for family care. It is less fact and more of a fiction, a fiction that ignores childhood, disability, old age as well as women's burden of caregiving. One meaning of economic independence today is what happens to the household income of couples who split the joint household into two separate households. This research documents the vulnerability of the subsequent household of the woman in Esping-Anderson's models of welfare as represented by France, Germany and the UK. In these countries, a separated woman can avoid a decline in her economic well-being only by repartnering. Denmark stands out as the country where gender does not have a statistically significant impact on the post-separation standard of living where there is no new partner (controlling for other relevant variables). The Roadmap also refers to the need for a reconciliation of work and family but, other than child care, it is up to the women and men themselves to work this out. Furthermore, it does not address the need for changes in the labour markets and need for changes in employer's practices, except to caution about flexibility. The main goal here seems to be an increase in women's workforce participation, hardly an effective way to achieve equal economic independence for women and men. The Roadmap also addresses the issues of women and work in developing countries but here the reconciliation of work and family life, and even childcare, is not discussed. There is a history of struggle by workers to make their labour market activity compatible with their family responsibility. The move to include women in labour markets has shifted the context of the worker and his family to the individual. But it is the family, not the individual, which is the appropriate unit of analysis in discussing economic well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employment protection legislation attracted particular attention in the past decade as a potentially important cause of persistently high unemployment in Europe. In response to this concern, a considerable number of OECD countries liberalised the rules governing employment. Italy opted for the deregulation of so-called «non-standard» employment relations for particular groups within the labour market, but left «standard» employment and pre-existing work contracts largely unchanged. This choice was justified by policy-makers with the argument that, in the long run, it may be a way to integrate the weakest components of the work force into the labour market -- that is, in standard, secure employment. This process has been referred to as «partial and targeted deregulation». As a consequence, non-standard employment has grown especially among the younger cohorts, creating a real «secondary, underprotected. labour market which arises substantial problems of social citizenship and potential marginalisation. In this paper we investigate the consequences of these flexibilisation efforts for the labour-market entry of recent cohorts. In particular, we ask whether these measures have effectively helped to integrate young people into the labour market, or whether they have simply added employment precariousness to pre-existing problems of social inequality that afflict Italian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper underlines above all how the analysis and interpretation of school-to-work transition and, more generally, of the relationship between young people and labour, need a complex theoretical and methodological framework, involving structural, institutional and individual variables. Secondly, it focuses on the not satisfying condition of young Italians for what regards their participation to the labour market: they often find work opportunities characterized by precarity and/or low professional skills. Thirdly, it suggests how young generations show some innovative behaviours and moods aimed to find good and new opportunities inside ongoing transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article analyzes contemporary migration processes, by focusing on the so-called 'second generation' in Europe and Italy. After a brief description of the different meanings attached to this definition, the article highlights some of the peculiar aspects of the Italian context and analyzes them. Italy has experienced immigration only recently in comparison to other European countries. In addition, in this country immigration is often discussed by politicians and the media as a process related only with the labour market. This makes it interesting to define some preliminary indicators and trends in relation to the presence of migrants' children in Italy. Through the analysis of statistical data and academic research, this article studies migration projects through the perspective of the 'second generation', to show this can provide an appropriate lens to understand migration trajectories in their full complexity. Additionally, this article encourages researchers to consider migration from this perspective, as it will be part of a long-term process which may be viewed, from an analytical perspective, as a trajectory, or rather as a multiplicity of potential trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]