The rankings are according to research by the Lower House department of studies published on Monday.
In the same quarter, the average female employment across the European Union stood at 69.3 per cent.
The study also found that one in five Italian women abandon the labour market after having children.
On national level, the House studies department reported that “there is also a gap in the ratio between men and women in the world of work”, with about 9.5 million women in employment in the reference period compared to 13 million men.
In terms of pay, the average hourly pay gap in Italy - namely the difference in gross hourly earnings between men and women - is 5 per cent.
This is below the European average of 13 per cent, while the overall pay gap - namely the difference between the average annual salary earned by men and women - is 43 per cent, above the European average of 36.2 per cent, added the study based on Eurostat data.
ANSA
