Unpacking the multidimensionality of gender role attitudes: The interactive role of territory and social class in Italy

This study examines how occupational class and territorial context interact to shape gender role attitudes in Italy. Using 2017 European Values Study data (N = 1757), we analyze attitudes toward women’s labor market participation and caregiving responsibilities. Results reveal distinct patterns: territorial context primarily drives public sphere attitudes, with northern regions significantly more egalitarian than the South. Conversely, occupational class predominantly shapes private sphere attitudes, with post-industrial classes supporting more egalitarian domestic arrangements than blue-collar workers. These findings indicate the relative influence of class versus territory depends on the attitudinal domain examined, challenging uniform applications of modernization theory and highlighting how material conditions and occupational socialization jointly condition gender attitude formation in advanced economies with uneven development.