POLICIES TO BOOST FERTILITY RATE? BUDGET LAW FOR 2024: INEFFECTIVE POLICIES THAT INCREASE GAPS|Incentivi alla natalità? Legge di Bilancio 2024: misure poco efficaci che accrescono i divari

The Budget Law for 2024 introduced new measures with the explicit aim of boosting the birth rate as well as maternal employment in Italy. After presenting the content of the new measures, this article shows how the assumptions behind these policies are based on ideas of society, family, the life course of young people, fertility choices and labor market participation that do not take into account either the prevailing employment profile of young people and women or the characteristics of fertility in Italy. The article argues that the instrument used, the Budget Law and the various measures it contains, prove to be very weak on both the fertility rate support, women’s employment and equal opportunities between men and women fronts.