The inconvenient truth behind Chef Cappuccio's post, which says he doesn't want "slackers, gays, and communists" in his kitchen.

It's a fact that Italy is no stranger to workplace discrimination . Michelin-starred chef Paolo Cappuccio demonstrated this once again when, on Tuesday, July 8, he shared an ad on his Facebook page aimed at "non-communist and sexual orientation-free" chefs. According to statistics unknown to us—the chef simply relied on the golden rule of his own experience, without any supporting data—these two human "categories" are likely to be prone to laxity and absenteeism in the workplace. Unreliable people, in short, to whom Cappuccio has decided to no longer give space.

Some statistics, this time traceable—which the chef has unwittingly helped to flesh out with his recent offering—tell a different story, however. That is, of a strong element of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace in Italy. Far from the social media anecdote and folkloristic tones, the problem is structural. And those who work know it .

A survey of 1,200 adults conducted in 2023 by ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics) together with the National Office against Racial Discrimination (INAF) investigated the effects of coming out and sexual orientation on career, professional growth, and income. Nearly four in ten respondents reported being penalized for their sexual orientation (homosexual or bisexual) in at least one of these areas.

This data is accompanied by another significant element: approximately 3 people in 10 have suffered aggression in the workplace or denigration online , always due to their sexual orientation.

The situation becomes even more alarming if you look at the people trans and non-binary women , with staggering numbers. Over 8 in 10 have experienced at least one microaggression at work (eye contact, jokes, exclusion), and nearly 60% report having experienced a concrete disadvantage in their professional lives.

In the European Rainbow Map of ILGA-Europe (International Lesbian and Gay Association) and Gay.it, Italy is in 35th place.

But let's broaden our horizons with the European Rainbow Map , created by ILGA-Europe (International Lesbian and Gay Association) together with Gay.it, updated in May 2025: Italy ranks 35th. A worse result than the previous year, with a score of 24.41%.

How is the score calculated? Some areas are crucial: equality and non-discrimination at just 8%, family rights just over 17%, hate crimes and hate speech at a resounding 0%. Nothing. Because, compared to these data, the effectiveness of regulatory protection appears to be absent. In a European context where rights and guarantees are advancing, Italy is lagging behind. Not just in the pronouncements of a chef, but in numbers, laws, and strategies that are not being implemented. The lack of awareness and concrete resources are the deepest inequalities , those that risk making exclusion an accepted norm.

Yet, current Italian and European legal systems provide protections —although, as the data shows, often ineffective in practice—against discrimination in the workplace. The Equal Opportunities Code , amended in 2008, together with the Workers' Statute (according to some broad interpretations of Article 15 ), and, above all, Article 3 of the Constitution, should offer some protection in this regard.

At the European level, Directive 2000/78/EC —transposed into Italian law in 2003—establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. The Zan Bill , defeated in the Senate in 2021, aimed to strengthen and make these protections more explicit by introducing the concept of homophobia and transphobia among hate crimes, including in the workplace.

The comparison with the rest of Europe is bleak. Just consider that just a year ago, in May 2024, Italy—along with countries like Hungary , Romania , and Bulgaria —did not sign the EU declaration to promote LGBTQ+ policies . In short, our country is moving forward in fits and starts: amid ambiguity, backwardness, and difficulty recognizing protections and rights.

Perhaps, then, the absenteeism Cappuccio referred to should be analyzed precisely in light of these data. In a different light, indeed, hoping not to be blinded by the obvious: the real absence is that of greater rights and protections . Or at least their correct application.