Agile work and gender gap in Italy. An empirical sociological study on downsides and future scenarios

Abstract

The article discusses an empirical study on agile work (remote working) in Italy, with a sociological perspective. As is well known, the COVID-19 pandemic shock has led to a significant increase in the attention paid to this issue, as long as it has “forced” millions of people to experience this kind of work. This great social experimentation has also triggered a reconsideration of important concepts of everyday life such as those of time and space, among many others. Starting from this preliminary assumption, a national empirical study on agile work was conducted at the Department of Human Sciences at the Italian University of L’Aquila resorting to a qualitative approach. The research was achieved by conducting 64 in-depth interviews with women across the country, highlighting and exploring the multiple critical elements and strengths of the agile work experience from March 2020 lockdown to September 2021. It is clear from the research that emergency strategies on the topic of agile working are not adequate: a paradigm shift is needed.