Female Students and Graduates in Business and Economics in Turin (1906-1940)

This work aims to shed new light on the dynamics of women's participation to university education in Italy in the first half of the 20th century through the analysis of a significant case: the educational paths, achievements and constraints of the female students and graduates at the “Scuola Superiore di Studi Applicati al Commercio” (High School of Commerce) of Turin since 1906, when this was founded, until the second world war and after. From 1935 this business school became part of the University of Turin as the Faculty of business and economics. To this end, section 2 provides an overview of the institutional framework in which the High school of Turin was established and carried out its educational activities; section 3 analyses the data of female students who enrolled and graduated at this institution in the period considered; section 4 analyses a few cases of female graduates with a record of excellence. Among them, Maria Clotilde Franchi, Ada Costamagna, Olga Rivarono Deaglio and Costanza Costantino. As a consequence of almost insurmountable gender-based obstacles, only Olga Rivarono Deaglio and Costanza Costantino were able to start an academic career. This chapter draws mainly on the documentation stored in the historical archives of the University of Turin and on the data included in the “Annuari” (Yearbooks) of the High school of commerce and, since 1935, of the University. It also utilizes the correspondence, stored at the “Fondazione Luigi Einaudi”, of Giuseppe Prato and of Luigi Einaudi.