Camusso accuses the CGIL of machismo: the women of the union are divided

TURIN. “The condition of women remains that of discrimination. And even my trade union is male-dominated within it”. The accusation comes from Senator Susanna Camusso. It is precisely the former CGIL general secretary who advanced the criticism yesterday, at the Turin Readers’ Club during the presentation of the book “Now it’s our turn”.

“Let’s be clear: the CGIL is chauvinist as is any mass collective place, where you can try to use some antibodies, but it still remains a mirror of society”. So many occasions «in which your word is worth less than that of a man. You don’t get the same attention. I saw with my own eyes delegates who asked for a man and not a woman to represent them». Yet she succeeded just the same. «Yes, but we must be careful when analyzing these processes: when a woman breaks the glass roof, the worst and most wrong thing that can be done is to blame the other women who didn’t make it, as if to say “I I did it, why not you?” I was lucky enough to build my path in the great years of feminism, where there was a strong collective mobilization that made it possible to carry forward many requests internally, thanks also to the coordination of the delegates who achieved great results. Without that job there would never have been a general secretary of the CGIL». Those were the years of demands, of a “very strong tension that was also picked up by trade unions and political parties”. Today, Camusso sees that tension «reduce and this is risky, because it could cause a retreat. I don’t see enough commitment in the unions, more could be done”. Camusso now sits in Palazzo Madama. In Montecitorio there is the first female premier. “Female leadership is also defined by what it accomplishes. With Meloni we have a woman who broke through the glass roof, but now she keeps the other women glued to the floor. It’s one of the risks I was talking about earlier: the message is getting across that if a woman has made it then all those who haven’t succeeded are to blame”. Bitter considerations, hers.

The amazement of Fedeli
“I am very surprised by this comment.” Valeria Fedeli, general secretary of textiles for over ten years before moving on to politics (also in the Democratic Party) and holding the position of vice president of the Senate and minister of education, does not hide more than one perplexity. “After eight years of managing the CGIL, I expect to know from you what battles you have engaged in, with whom, where you won and where you lost them”. A conquest is never forever. Fedeli knows it well. «Susanna and I and other women have started a mobilization, we have carried out a collective work and, with clashes and heated debates, we have obtained results. The most significant? The anti-discrimination law. It was the 2006 congress. And if now the collective strength is running out, I have to ask: which battles have not been considered?».

So Sacchetti
The women of the Cigl underline one aspect: “The union is not immune to male chauvinism”. The national secretary Tania Scacchetti talks about her experience: «I have had the opportunity to grow. It is clear, however, that we do not live in a bubble. We are wondering about how to improve». The new general secretary of the CGIL Turin Gabriella Semeraro adds. «The basic problem is that women are penalized by the times of work and life. And it is on this point of balance that we need to make progress».