Ombretta Ingrasci is a Fellow at the University of Milan, Italy.

For very long, women were considered a passive force in Italian mafia organizations. Ombretta Ingrasci''s path-breaking study brings to the fore women's agency and offers a theoretically subtle discussion of the complex role of women. Add to that a wealth of archival and oral data, and you have in your hands a definitive study of this difficult subject.

• Introduction Chapter 1 Cosa nostra and the 'Ndrangheta Violence, power and business Organizational structures and ritualsChapter 2 Women in the Italian societyLabour marketSocial customs and rightsChapter 3 Mafia control over women The code of honour Female oppressionHonour killings Blood alliances through marriages Chapter 4 Women's conformist agency. Performing soft powerEducation VendettaChapter 5 Women's compliant agency. From margins to delegated powerThe drug trade Economic crimesFrom hermes tasks to leadership positions Female agency meets mafia organizational needsChapter 6 Women's transformative agency. In search for autonomous paths The strength of female vulnerability Speaking outFollowing the own children The ethical impact AppendixLea Garofalo's letter to Italian President of RepublicBibliography SourcesNotes