Female family heads in fascist Italy: a study of the 1931 population census

This article examines the characteristics of Italian families with a female family head in the Italian Population Census of 1931. The aim is to assess the spread and distribution of female-led families in Italy, and to analyze, in demographic and socio-economic terms, the characteristics of these families and the women who led them. Differences between these female-led families and those with male family heads are highlighted in terms of demographic characteristics, social status and geographical distribution. Female-family heads were mostly widows and were particularly numerous among the very rich and the very poor. As regards territorial distribution, female family heads were more numerous in the north and south than in the centre, and they were more common in cities than in the countryside. Many characteristics of these female-led families can be traced back hundreds of years.