The economic thought on women in post-unified Italy

The economic thought on women in post-unified Italy and the liberal conception of emancipation of women journalists (1861–1902)

https://doi.org/10.1080/09672567.2025.2491307

Claudia Sunna and Rossella Bufano

Abstract

The representation of women in post-unified Italy, in society in general and in the economic sphere in particular, is the main topic of this contribution. Women liberal journalists, such as Beccari, Mozzoni and Maslova, proposed a “new” way of interpreting the theme of women’s economic role. They linked the issue of work participation to the request for equal political rights between men and women and discussed the economic categories used by economists to limit the presence of women in the labour market. Their contributions were aimed at questioning the model that assigned women to a predominantly domestic economic role.

Keywords: Women’s labour; emancipation movement; Gualberta A. Beccari; Anna Maria Mozzoni; Elizaveta Maslova (Tatiana Svetoff)