When welfare is not female: healthcare socialisation and gender inequalities in Italian medicine

This paper analyses gender inequalities in the Italian healthcare system by focusing on the gap between formal policy frameworks and everyday care practices. Moving beyond explanations centred on the lack of regulations, it argues that inequalities are reproduced through processes of healthcare socialisation that shape the recognition of symptoms, access to services, and the credibility of patients’ experiences. Drawing on a theoretically informed policy analysis and the conceptually driven case study of the Bollino Rosa (Pink Badge) initiative, the paper identifies key mechanisms through which gender-sensitive policies are selectively translated into practice. These include organisational constraints, professional routines, and implicit gender norms. The analysis shows that, despite the institutionalisation of gender medicine in Italy, the implementation of equity-oriented approaches remains uneven and contingent. The Bollino Rosa programme is understood as a governance device that mediates between policy and practice, highlighting both the potential and the limits of relational welfare initiatives. The paper then contributes to sociological debates on welfare and gender by proving how healthcare systems reproduce inequalities through everyday practices and calls for a relational rethinking of healthcare governance.