Exploring Gender Gap within Southern Italy’s Third Sector: Insights, Barriers and Strategies for Equality

This study presents the results of the training program “Third Sector Facing Gender Issues”, conducted between 2023 and 2025 within the broader frame of the FQTS project (Third Sector Executive Training). The program engaged over 450 participants across Southern Italy—utilizing a mixed-method approach—aiming to raise awareness of gender inequalities, foster inclusive educational communities and promote gender-sensitive practices within civil society organizations. Despite the Third Sector’s efforts for social innovation and inclusivity, the research reveals a persistent gap between women’s high levels of participation and their underrepresentation in decision-making roles. Based on qualitative data collected through seminars, participatory forums and in-depth interviews with female leaders, the study explores how gender is perceived, enacted and institutionalized within organizational culture. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of symbolic exclusion, emotional labor and internalized resistance—both explicit and unconscious—that hinder structural change. Situated in the context of “liminal communities”, where traditional norms and transformative aspirations coexist, the research emphasizes the political and pedagogical value of community-based training and dialogical learning. The development of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) emerges as a key strategy to support systemic change, making gender equity measurable and actionable. Ultimately, the study highlights the transformative potential of women’s narratives and collective agency in reimagining civic, political and organizational futures across Italian Third Sector.