Donne e lavoro in un'industria strategica italiana (1920-1940)

The question of the role played by businesses and entrepreneurs in the emancipation of women in society and work is still an open issue, especially in Italy. The research focuses attention on the Fascist twenty-year period, which although dominated by an ideology opposed to women workers, tolerated their presence in the face of a production system lacking in male labor, especially in strategic sectors, due to colonial wars and events related to World War II. The essay analyzes the case of Leopoldo Parodi Delfino, one of the most important entrepreneurs in the Italian war industry, who wrote a significant page in the history of women's labor.