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Nowadays, society is characterized by enormous and rapid changes, erratic careers, gender discrimination, injustices, and inequities. Discrimination includes professional and educational segregation, the gender pay gap, stereotypical gender roles, and social expectations. In this context, phenomena called low fertility and fertility gap are increasing. Indeed, the birth rate necessary to ensure the replacement of the population is not reached, with severe repercussions at a social, environmental, and economic level. This study aimed to investigate 835 women’s perceptions of the desire for motherhood and the associated difficulties. Hierarchical multiple regression and thematic decomposition analyses first highlight a significant difference between the number of children women realistically plan and the ideal number of children they would like. Secondly, the results showed how the parenthood choice is connected to the perception of social and gender inequity. Finally, in a Life Design perspective, preventive actions will be described to support women to get back to the center of life choices, building dignified fair paths and family projects.

Introduction: Given its profound and transversal impact, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 marked a deep point of division in how people make sense of the world and their lives. The consequences of this event were remarkable, especially for populations already facing vulnerability, exclusion, and discrimination. In Italy, over 3 million people (5.2% of the entire population) have a disability due to health issues or severe limitations that prevent them from performing daily activities. Although the COVID-19 health emergency aggravated and amplified these problems, research and studies investigating the incidence of psychological distress and the role of psychological resources for people with disabilities in the aftermath of the pandemic are still to be implemented. For these reasons, the Department of Psychology conducted a study on behalf of the Italian Government to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social, psychological, and economic wellbeing of Italians with disabilities. Methods: The aim was to assess the consequences of the pandemic on this population, especially the impacts related to the lockdowns and preventive measures, and to evaluate the protective role that could be played by psychological resources such as resilience, future orientation, and career adaptability in a Life Design perspective. With the collaboration of local, regional, and national associations for people with disability, an anonymous, online self-report questionnaire was distributed to 403 persons with disabilities in Italy. Results: Results showed a strong relationship between the levels of psychological resources and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: In line with studies in international literature regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disabilities, this research highlights the extension of this period’s impacts on this population’s psychological wellbeing. Moreover, this study amplifies the urgent call for action and res

Over the last decades, the social context has been characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and inequalities, with significant impacts on people, groups, and communities. Covid-19 Pandemic has accentuated social discriminations, as inequalities affecting women (World Health Organization, 2018), with repercussions on general income, health, education (Office for National Statistics, 2021) that have been exhausting people, the economic system, and the welfare state (Antonicelli et al., 2020). To cope with these difficulties, on april 10, 2020 the Italian Prime Minister appointed a Task Force of 17 experts with scientific and applicative skills in social and economic fields. Within a short time, the Task Force aimed at identifying practical solutions priming the relaunch of the country. Given the women’s central role in the country’s social and economic development, in the final version of the Task Force plan, Gender Equality was indicated as the third—strategic and innovative—axis, together with Digitization and Green Economy. Its rationale was to promote gender equality in every action, with an allocation of dedicated economic resources. Specifically, the Task Force’s Working Group named “Individuals, Families, and Society” proposed specific initiatives aimed at recognizing and bridging the gender gaps in the various areas, and measures to support vulnerable people. This contribution will focus on the central role that the Task Force has played in encouraging systematic attention to women, considering their needs and the social-economic impacts on their choices and well-being. It will illustrate the Task Force’s internal dynamics (there were four women out of 17 people, then increased), the process of inclusion of different perspectives, both gender and multidisciplinary, and the practices suggested for the post-pandemic rebuilding. The final goal will be to show the inability to promote innovation, resilience and sustainability, without working with and for the com

The paper describes an innovative methodological approach to Public Engagement already tested by the Authors in the healthcare context. We propose to apply our methodology to social innovation projects, focusing on gender perspective when promoting enhancements in health-community. Methodology mixes Psychosocial Participatory Research, Service-Design and “Human-Centered” approach, promoting an interdisciplinary, technological, and sustainable process. The final aim is to find viable solutions to real problems through the engagement of a community of experts and citizens in a three-step process. Awareness-raising actions: to increase people’s knowledge—group understanding of the subject and to stimulate reflection. Activities: Gender-Cafés, Ethnographic-Observations and Narrative-Interviews. Activation actions: group interventions in which initial stimuli are collected and processed into proposals for services and tools aimed at targeted groups. Activities: Barcamps, Generative Labs. Participation actions: multidisciplinary teams realize prototypes and elaborate concrete solutions (tools, services) addressing crucial gender issues. Activities: Hackathon, Service-Design-Labs.