Italian Gender Equality Case

Constitutional Case No. 163/1993

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Italian Gender Equality Case

Italy Constitutional Court
Constitutional Case No. 163/1993

Facts

A woman in the province of Trento, Italy applied for a job in the provincial firefighting service, but the firefighting service denied her application for failing to meet the minimum-height requirement. The woman brought a complaint to the provincial commission, challenging her exclusion from the firefighting service. The commission considered Article 4 of the Trento Provincial Law of February 15, 1980 (Article 4). Article 4 mandated that anyone seeking to become a firefighter must be at least 1.65 meters, or 5 feet, 5 inches. The average height of an Italian woman was between 1.51 and 1.73 meters, whereas the average height of an Italian man was between 1.63 and 1.87 meters. Article 4 also made no distinction between male applicants and female applicants. The magistrate of Trent sent a constitutional question to the Italy Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling on the constitutionality of Article 4. The magistrate noted in the referral to the Italy Constitutional Court that the height limitation in Article 4 did not appear to be justified by the nature of firefighting. Furthermore, the magistrate noted a potential violation of Article 3 of the Constitution of Italy, which required “more favorable treatments for women . . . [to eradicate] the causes of traditional discrimination against women.”

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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