(Bloomberg) -- Italy has the lowest female employment ratio in the European Union, after being overtaken by Greece in the fourth quarter of 2022. Some 51.8% of Greek women worked, according to Eurostat data, compared to 51.7% of Italian women. Italy’s low female participation in the job market is one of the main causes holding back its economy, and shows little sign of improving even after Italians for the first time elected a woman, Giorgia Meloni, as prime minister.

--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.

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