Old and male, only 15% of mayors are women and 10% are under 40

Local politics remains a business for mature men. This is how one could summarize what emerged from a study by Centro studi enti locali based on data from the Central Directorate for Electoral Services of the Ministry of the Interior. The research highlighted how, in Italian municipalities, those who wear the tricolor sash are predominantly men between 51 and 70 years old and, in more than half of the cases, do not have a university degree. Women are only 15%.

The 2025 administrative round has already opened, with the 4 Friulian municipalities going to the polls between 13 and 14 April, and will end on 9 June. There are only 473 mayoral bands up for grabs overall, of which only 76 relate to administrations with more than 15 thousand inhabitants. Mayors under 40 are only 10% of the total, a percentage stable compared to previous years but which confirms how access to the top of local administrations remains largely the prerogative of older age groups. More specifically, only 84 mayors are under 30, while those between 31 and 40 are 681. The percentages of mayors under 40 fluctuate across the territory: the North stands at 11%, the Center at 10%, in the South and on the Islands at 8%. Among the regions, Emilia-Romagna stands out positively, where mayors under 40 are 17% of the total, followed by Basilicata (15%) and Veneto (12%). At the opposite end of the spectrum, Liguria (4%) and Campania (6%). The other regions below the national average are: Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia and Sicily (7%), Sardinia (8%), Friuli Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino Alto Adige and Umbria (9%). In the average (10%) are Calabria, Piedmont and Tuscany. Lazio, Lombardy and Valle d'Aosta, at 11%.

The most represented age group among Italian mayors is between 51 and 70 years old. This currently comprises 56% of the total number of mayors in office, a slight increase compared to 2023 (54.2%). In two years, mayors over 70 have gone from 8.8% to 10%. Furthermore, there has been no progress on the gender issue front. Female Italian mayors currently in office are 15% of the total. The data, unchanged compared to the survey by the Centro Studi Enti Locali before the 2023 administrative elections, still highlights a marked gap: 85% of municipalities are in fact male-dominated. Geographically, the North has a more marked female presence at the top of local governments, with 18% of female mayors, followed by the Centre (16%) and the South (10%). The most virtuous regions in terms of female representation are Emilia-Romagna and Valle d'Aosta, which have 23% of female mayors. Tuscany follows, with 21%, and Friuli Venezia Giulia with 20%. Bringing up the rear are Sicily and Campania, both stuck at 7%.

Less than half of Italian mayors (49%) have a degree. Only 1% have continued their studies with post-graduate specializations. The percentage of graduates is 61% among female mayors and 53% among male mayors.