A study presented by the association for employers of domestic workers in Italy highlighted that domestic work is one of the few sectors in which migrants and Italians earn the same low level of pay.
The national association for employers of domestic workers in Italy, Assindatcolf, presented a study conducted with the IDOS study and research center - which produces the annual Statistical Dossier on Immigration in Italy - that revealed there is no wage gap between foreign and Italian workers in the domestic sector.
Those who are legally employed as domestic workers (colf), home carers and babysitters have an essentially equal salary, with an average annual wage that is, in fact, slightly higher for foreigners: 8,374.63 euros for foreigners compared to 7,364,61 euros for Italians, based on data from Italian social security and pensions agency INPS.
This is an exception with regard to workers in general, given that, according to the 2020 IDOS Statistical Dossier on Immigration, the overall average monthly wage for foreign workers (1,077 euros in 2019) is 23.5% lower than that of Italians (1,408 euros).
The research was presented during the event "Dignified domestic work and minimum salary: at what point are we in Italy and Europe?"
Female workers
When looking at female workers, who represent 88.7% of all workers in the sector - with over two employed foreigners out of five in Italy working in the sector - the double 'penalties' of being female and foreigner seem to cancel each other out.
This goes against the general trend in the country, given that overall, according to figures in the most recent Statistical Dossier on Immigration, female foreign workers not only earn 17% less (894 euros) compared to foreigners overall, but they also make 28.2% less than Italian female workers (1,245 euros), who already receive a lower average salary than their male counterparts.
The positive figure, however, must also be read in relation to the number of regular hours worked in a year. Non-EU foreigners tend to have higher hours than those of Italians because for foreigners, having a legal job is essential for maintaining legal status in the country.
On the other hand, the pay difference between Italians and foreigners tends to diminish, flattening out lower for both, in the sectors in which the salary level is generally low, such as in the sector of domestic work.