Conference Program

In recent years, the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) rate in Italy has declined significantly. Yet this aggregate improvement conceals the persistence of structural inequalities that continue to shape young people’s transitions to adulthood. Previous research has consistently identified age and gender as key determinants of NEET risk (Odoardi et al. 2022, 2023; Zanfrini & Giuliani 2023, Van Vugt et al. 2020, 2025). Framing NEET status within a transition to adulthood perspective, this study focuses on gender differences in long-term NEET experiences in Italy (Villani, 2026).

The analysis adopts a two-step strategy. First, BES ISTAT indicators are used descriptively to outline regional socio-economic inequalities and to identify structural territorial patterns, particularly in relation to labour market fragility, childcare provision and female employment rates. Second, PIAAC 2023 microdata are employed to estimate the probability of being long-term NEET at the individual level, with separate models for men and women. The relationship between territorial conditions and individual outcomes is therefore interpretative rather than based on a multilevel statistical design.

The gendered dimension of NEET status has been widely documented in both Italian and international literature. Our findings confirm that long-term NEET status assumes markedly different configurations for men and women, reflecting asymmetric mechanisms that operate throughout the transition to adulthood.

For men, long-term NEET status is primarily associated with the intersection of low parental education, early school dropout and territorial disadvantage (Giancola & Salmieri 2021). Family formation appears, on average, to reduce the probability of remaining long-term NEET, suggesting that fatherhood may function as a factor reinforcing labour market attachment.

For women, the configuration differs substantially. Living in the Islands and having children are strongly associated with a higher probability of remaining long-term NEET, even when skills, educational background and social origin are comparable. Education, however, emerges as a significant protective factor. Higher levels of educational attainment reduce the likelihood of prolonged NEET status, consistent with recent OECD evidence showing that young women in Italy tend to experience longer educational trajectories than their male counterparts.

Yet this protective effect must be interpreted within a broader framework of gendered structural constraints. Although not directly modelled here, extensive evidence shows that women in the Italian labour market are disproportionately exposed to temporary, part-time and discontinuous contracts. Persistent labour market asymmetries and unequal returns to education may therefore limit the extent to which educational capital translates into stable employment, especially during family transitions(Rossier & Potarca 2025). The presence of a child significantly increases the probability of long-term NEET status for women, highlighting the asymmetric distribution of care responsibilities (Lantano et al. 2025, Ripamonti, 2025).

Overall, these findings point to a gendered stratification of risk in the transition to adulthood. Long-term NEET status does not reflect individual deficits but rather the cumulative interaction between family background, territorial inequalities, gender norms and labour market structures. The decline in aggregate NEET rates thus coexists with the persistence of deeply embedded mechanisms that systematically differentiate male and female trajectories (Villani, 2026).