In a Milan suburb each afternoon, Diego Di Franco collects his kids from school, coordinates their extracurricular activities, and cooks dinner — duties typically handled by Italian mothers. While this daily routine might seem ordinary, Di Franco stands out because he’s a father who documents his caregiving role on social media.
Although Italy’s legislature turned down a February proposal for equal maternity and paternity leave, Di Franco represents a growing movement of “dad influencers” who are transforming perceptions of fatherhood in a nation grappling with work-life balance and gender equality challenges.
Despite being the eurozone’s third-biggest economy under its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni — who has a 9-year-old daughter — Italy continues to see women handling most caregiving responsibilities while facing one of Europe’s largest gender employment disparities, hampering long-term economic growth as the population ages.
Economic experts and advocacy groups point to a significant policy disparity that worsens the problem: mothers receive five months of leave compared to fathers’ mere 10 days of paternity leave.
Opposition lawmakers proposed equal, non-transferable, and fully compensated parental leave for both parents, similar to reforms implemented in Spain and other nations. However, the center-right majority defeated the measure 137-117, claiming budgetary limitations.
Olympic swimming champion Federica Pellegrini, mother of two, expressed her frustration on Instagram after the bill’s defeat: “If a woman wants a career in Italy, she is better off not becoming a mother.” Her statement reflects what many Italians view as an impossible choice between professional advancement and family life.
This legislative setback stands in sharp contrast to developments on social platforms, where Italian fathers increasingly share content about daily childcare responsibilities, making paternal involvement more visible and mainstream.
Sociologist and Children’s Health Centre consultant Annina Lubbock observed: “The number of dad-influencing bloggers is increasing and it’s very varied. They’ve made a huge contribution in putting forward a different narrative about fatherhood, which is more inclusive, more equal, also fun.”
She added: “This is a reflection of a change that’s been ongoing in Italy already for some time, but these influencers are also driving this change.”
Di Franco exemplifies this trend as a 45-year-old father with over 50,000 Instagram followers who serves as the primary caregiver while his wife Raffaella maintains a full-time senior management position — an unusual arrangement in Italy.
“Around 85% of my followers are women, many asking how to encourage their partners to be more present at home,” Di Franco explained.
Raffaella credits Diego’s involvement as crucial to her professional success: “It gave me the confidence to face challenges and seize opportunities.”
However, the Di Franco family’s situation remains exceptional. Italy’s female employment rate reached only 53% in 2024, representing the European Union’s largest gender employment gap, according to Eurostat data. The EU average for female employment stands at 70.8%.
Women comprise approximately 70% of voluntary job departures in Italy, frequently occurring after childbirth, while involuntary part-time employment remains common.
Statistician Linda Laura Sabbadini characterized this pattern as “a clear sign of the child penalty women pay for having children.”
Economic analysts connect the challenges of balancing careers with child-rearing to Italy’s declining birth rates, emphasizing that increased female workforce participation is crucial for sustaining economic growth and public finances. They argue that additional support for working mothers would encourage childbearing.
Opposition Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein told parliament: “This law would have been a cultural revolution.”
Representatives from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party claimed they harbored no ideological opposition to expanding paternity leave but maintained it was economically unfeasible.
Walter Rizzetto, who chairs the Chamber’s Labour Committee, told reporters: “Furthermore, a mandatory five-month leave for fathers would require deeper analysis due to possible impacts on public administration and small businesses.”
International examples demonstrate that policy structure is critical. After Spain expanded paid paternity leave to 16 weeks and made it mandatory and non-transferable in 2021, father participation increased dramatically and the gender wage gap decreased, according to academic research.
Italian research by the Tortuga think tank reveals that when private employers provide extended paternity leave, utilization rates climb to 71%, surpassing the 64% national average, with younger fathers showing greater likelihood to use the benefit.
Di Franco remains hopeful based on his personal observations: “With my first child I was the only dad at kindergarten. Six years later, there were three or four. And I thought: things are changing.”
