Exploring Gender Equity in Public Policies and Urban Spaces: A Two-Country Analysis

Abstract The overall purpose of the thesis is to examine gender inequality through multiple analytical lenses in two geographies, namely Brazil and Italy and to explore how income support programmes shape social reproduction, gender dynamics, and spatial equity. Rather than a direct technical comparison, this work investigates how different welfare models interact with the lived experiences of women, particularly regarding the unpaid care burden and urban exclusion. Drawing on an urban analysis of spatial segregation to understand the systemic exclusion of women from spatial dynamics, the study employs a mixed-methods design to capture both the macro-structural and daily dimensions of inequality. By integrating national household survey data, econometric analysis, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and spatial mapping, the methodology bridges broad policy impacts with localized ethnographic insights. Empirically, the research first investigates the Brazilian conditional cash transfer programme, Bolsa Família, in the city of São Paulo. This is achieved by triangulating national data (PNAD Contínua 2019–2022) with fieldwork conducted among beneficiaries living in centrally located housing occupations. The analysis then turns to the Italian context, examining the impact of the Reddito di Cittadinanza (RdC) through the INAPP-PLUS survey (2021–2022) to assess the distribution of care work among recipient households. Ultimately, the Brazilian and Italian trajectories reveal a critical tension in contemporary welfare systems: monetary redistribution, however essential, cannot substitute for the structural socialisation of care as a public, urban, and collective responsibility.