Milan - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there problems with ethnic, race/racial minorities or religious prejudices? Gender equality?
Some. An Indian friend of mine had some issues because people thought she was a household help and could not possibly live in the posh building she lived in, and was often looked down upon or even ignored. Italian men are machos. Which doesn't mean they necessarily help you or open the door for you. That would be gentlemen. Gender equality is still a far way off. - Sep 2016
Italians will tell you there is no racism here. But there is. Black individuals stand out and you will feel it. I don't think there is much risk of any overt aggression, but you will probably notice you will be treated differently from time to time. Teens might feel it even more. People of Asian descent as well have the same problem. Italians like to blame their problems on immigrants and integration has been a major failure point for Italian society. I don't want to overstate the problem - I don't think you need to decide against coming because of this alone. Nationality can be a shield - if you make it clear you are American, British, Canadian, Aussie, etc. that will be the identity Italians focus on more than race. Italians are a couple decades behind the U.S. when it comes to gender equality. Legally, the protection is there, but the high-paying jobs and power positions go to men. Women are expected to control the domestic sphere. To combat this, many women over the last 30 years decided to "opt out" of family life - which accounts for Italy's pitiful birth rate. Generally, though, Milan is better than the rest of Italy. - Aug 2013
African-American friends faced fairly blatant discrimination in many situations. The Milanese tend to be a bit more closed and reserved than their southern brethren particularly to foreigners. However, once you break the initial ice, they are warm and inviting. The more Italian you speak, the better off you will be. - Jun 2010
Italy is pretty monocultural so anything "other" is not particularly welcome (this applies to people, food, ideas in general). East European or Mid-Eastern and Eastern European immigrants are generally perceived as criminals (and sometimes are). Sexism is kind of normal here, in the jokey, grab-a-woman's-breasts-or-ass kind of way. - Dec 2008
Not that I have seen or heard. - Jan 2008
