Introduction to Protagonismo, attivismo e reti delle donne nelle università contemporanee

The section of this monographic issue present in their in-depth argument some themes that unite them: so let’s try to trace and highlight the red threads that have characterized the history of women not only from the point of view of their arduous journey to have access to higher education but to begin to set up associations that could be a valid help for the request for rights in civil society, equal to those enjoyed by men. First of all, I would like to emphasize the coincidence of the chronology for the initiation of the university access process that occurs in some cases well before an official regulation is approved by national governments. Young women often enroll in university courses to obtain a degree but are not used to attend classrooms to listen to lectures; they prefer to study at home and take exams. The era in which women appear as a novelty that still causes a sensation are the last years of the 19th century. The numbers are still extremely scarce and the faculties chosen have to do with fairly traditional areas, relegated to treatment such as Pharmacy and Medicine, or with teaching, such as the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. In all the cases analyzed in the articles, the same progression is found: from an initial number of a few tens at the end of the 19th century to the rising tide of the 1960s and 1970s of the 20th century. Today we know with certainty from the statistics compiled by the ministries of education of many countries that female students are the majority of those enrolled in many degree courses, who graduate within the legal timeframe and who obtain better grades.