Laura Balbo (born

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 30 November 1933) is an Italian sociologist and politician. A

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, Balbo initially studied at the Universities of

and California, Berkeley before teaching at the Universities of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. She has also held visiting roles at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

. She has also served in the Italian Parliament, including holding cabinet positions under Massimo D'Alema between 1998 and 2000.

Academic career

Balbo graduated from the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

in 1956 with a degree in sociology. She then went to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

as a

, returned to Italy and taught sociology at the University of Milan. She was appointed professor at the university in 1968 and was later dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

. Her work covers racism, urbanization, family policies and the welfare state. She has a particular interest in women in society and coined the term ''double presence'' ( it, doppia presenza) to describe the way that women have a responsibility to both private, family life and the public world of work. She was Senior Fulbright Fellow at the Center for European Studies at

, visiting scholar at the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is a part of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, a ...

(1963–1965) and visiting associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz (1980).

Political career

Balbo took leave from her university career and ran for parliament, gaining her first seat in 1983. She remained in parliament until 1992 as an independent and later as part of '' Sinistra indipendente'' (the Independent Left). She subsequently joined ''

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

'' (the Greens). She was asked by Massimo D'Alema to take on the role of Minister for Equal Opportunities from 1998 to 2000. She instigated efforts to expand the remit of equal opportunities to encompass discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation discrimination. For the first time in Italy, the issue of sexual orientation became the subject of a specific assignment in the Ministry, in the person of

Franco Grillini Franco Grillini (born 14 March 1955) is an Italian politician and a prominent Italian gay-rights activist. Career He was born in Pianoro, Province of Bologna. During the 1970s, he took part in student political movements. He attended the Univer ...

. She also worked to strengthen women's representation in politics and improve female employment, including organising the first national conference on female employment in Naples in January 2000, opened by President

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

. Between 2000 and 2001, she was a special advisor to the Prime Minister on issues of discrimination and racism.

Works

Her publications include: * * * * * * * * * * *

Other Activities

Balbo was president of the (1998-2001). She has worked as a consultant for the European Office of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

in Copenhagen and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, led the and chaired the International Association for the Study of Racism (IASR), based in Amsterdam.

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (6 november 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbo, Laura 20th-century Italian women politicians 1933 births Living people Politicians from Padua Independent Left (Italy) politicians Deputies of Legislature IX of Italy Deputies of Legislature X of Italy Italian women academics Italian sociologists Italian women sociologists Women government ministers of Italy University of Padua alumni Academic staff of the University of Ferrara Academic staff of the University of Milan Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Fulbright alumni