Chi comanda non è donna. Il ruolo della donna nell'odierno sistema istituzionale lombardo

The number of women in politics still appears too limited. In order to investigate the present political situation different research methods have been used: a survey addressed to elected women in public institutions of the Region Lombardia has been carried out through structured questionnaires; a qualitative research through 25 in depth interviews and a focus group; a survey addressed to a sample of adult men and finally a monographic research on the recruitment conditions and support to women in public institutions of three European countries: Germany, France and Spain. Moving from the analysis of female representativeness at different institutional levels (national, regional, provincial and municipal), the research focuses on the main obstacles to female participation to the political and institutional life of the Region; women's motivations in entering politics; women's exertion of political power and potential "female" patterns of being in politics. Moreover the research aims at surveying men's opinions on women in public institutions. Cultural reserves and the endurance of a certain mentality on the political scene inhibits women's career. Nevertheless, men seem to welcome a larger presence of women in politics. Meanwhile the building up of solidarity among women seems a hard task: women's support to women in politics is often uneven and contradictory. Cultural transformation and normative regulations could fruitfully work on this anomaly.