Gender equality in the world of work, that’s why the revolution is possible

ROME. Gender is one of the three gaps that Italy must recover if it wants to grow, together with the territorial and generational one. Our country is still in 63rd place out of 146 states, in terms of gender disparity by economic participation, education level, health ed political empowerment according to Gender Gap Report 2022 of the World Economic Forum. Yet, bridging equality between women and men in every area of ​​private and public life would make it possible to have a very positive impact on GDP of 12%.

The challenge in the Pnrr
“Promoting women’s employment, encouraging the creation of balanced and stable employment relationships, represents an urgency for our country and the starting point for a more sustainable and inclusive future – he comments Stephen Cuzzilla, president 4.Manager and Federmanager –. Equality between men and women is possible and is one of the challenges posed by the Pnrr, which has earmarked over 3 billion euros for interventions aimed at breaking the infamous “glass ceiling”. A mandatory change of direction, also supported by another important measure: the Certification for gender equality, through which companies concretely undertake to eliminate gender inequalities in the world of work and in social life, gaining in terms of growth, inclusion and innovation. Today, the business world and managers are ready and mature for a change».

It is precisely in this 2023, the year of a possible revolution, that the book takes shape “She Leads”: gender equality in the future of work, written by Stefano Cuzzilla, Federmanager President and 4.Manager together with Andrea Catizone, lawyer on personal rights and discrimination and edited by the journalist Silvia Pagliuca. The volume, promoted by 4.Manager, a bilateral Confindustria-Federmanager association, investigates the reasons for the gender gap by denouncing current weaknesses and highlighting possible ways of improvement, to spread a more equitable and inclusive corporate culture.

The country that (doesn’t) exist
It was 1999 when Goldman Sachs analyst Kathy Matsui spoke for the first time about Womenomics, that is, the need to overcome the employment gap between men and women in the Japanese economy. Today, almost 25 years later, Womenomics has not happened in Japan or in the rest of the world. Women are currently caught between an inaccessible labor market and a cumbersome welfare system that still sees them as the main custodians of the duties of care.

«Gender gap means living in a country where the female employment rate is among the lowest in Europe, equal to around 49% (2022 data), where 5 years after graduation women earn 20% less than to male colleagues of the same level, in whom being a mother is an obstacle to career development. In fact, the percentage of employment passes from 71% for women without children to 54% for women who have a child under 6. And obviously there is also an impact in terms of income: the annual gross wages of working mothers are €5,700 lower than female workers who are not mothers. This is the child penalty, the effects of which impact exclusively on women. For this reason, if we really want women to be able to break through the glass ceiling, it is urgent to work from the first step of professional development. In fact, when we talk about the future of work, gender equality is no longer an option» he notes Silvia Pagliucajournalist editor of She Leads.

2023: the year of a possible revolution
Looking at the new works, in fact, the gender gap is even more evident. Think of the scientific-technological disciplines (STEM): in Europe, the percentage of men working in the digital sector is 3.1 times higher than that of women and only 22% of those involved in Artificial Intelligence are women. Same situation in Italy.

And the gap widens if you go up the organizational charts of all sectors: on average, only 35% of managers in Europe are women. In Italy the percentage is even lower: the analysis of the 4.Manager Observatory reveals that female managerial positions are firm at 28% of the total and the quota drops to 19% if we consider the positions governed by a manager contract. The survey conducted on a sample of over 17,000 companies indicates that only 16.5% are female-run and operate mainly in the manufacturing, health and social assistance sectors. Only 12.2% of the role of chairman of the board of directors is covered by women, a percentage that drops to 11.9% among managing directors.

Yet diversity is good, in terms of productivity, innovation and well-being of the workforce. For example, companies run exclusively/strongly by women (89.4%) and those run equally (92.6%) have a higher score on the degree of digitization than businesses run by priority and/or exclusively by men (87, 8%). The companies that have signed up to the Charter for equal opportunities and equality in the workplace were the focus of a survey carried out by 4.Manager in 2020 and 2021 and reveals that in the field of gender equality the hottest topic addressed from companies is parenting followed by continuous training, equality in top positions and equal pay. It emerges that companies today are more inclined to communicate the actions taken on gender equality, but this progress in communication is not always supported by the development of real projects (gender washing). In fact, 27.3% of the companies being analysed, communicate a superficial attention.

How to break through the glass ceiling
The European Parliament has given its consent to the directive on women on boards of directors: by the end of June 2026, all large companies listed in the European Union will have to reserve at least 40% of non-executive director posts for women and 33% of the total director posts.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan plays a crucial role. Gender equality represents one of the strategic and transversal priorities of the Pnrr. Interventions aimed at women account for 1.6% of the total (approximately €3.1 billion) and are concentrated in the Education and Research and Inclusion and Cohesion missions. Furthermore, the measures also include the creation of new nursery schools and kindergartens, the promotion of STEM skills and the strengthening of active policies to reduce the number of those who do not study and do not work (in 2019, 33% of those who do not study , neither working nor receiving training, the so-called NEETs, were women). In doing so, the Pnrr promises to generate a 4% increase in female employment by 2026.

Gender Equality Certification
A change that will also be supported by another historic measure: the Certification for gender equality, with which companies will be able to measure their commitment in terms of human capital, obtaining important benefits. In fact, companies will be able to enjoy an exemption from paying social security contributions which will be determined in an amount not exceeding 1% and within the maximum limit of 50,000 euros per year for each company. By June 2026, it is estimated that at least 800 SMEs will be able to be certified and around 1,000 companies will receive tax breaks.

«With the certification on gender equality we wanted, for the first time, to build a set of actions which, designed for businesses and manufacturers of goods and services, gradually build an inclusive culture capable of recognizing diversity and enhance them – underlines the lawyer Andrea Catizone –. It is a real cultural revolution on social sustainability, the S of ESG (Environmental, social, and corporate governance, ed), which translates into measurable benefits without being a cost, but an investment for each person involved”.

«It is a great opportunity for companies and not only in economic terms, but also in terms of ethics and reputation – he concludes Stephen Cuzzilla –. Themes that any company that wants to look to the future must pay attention to. We are in the era of great resignations and many women are resigning even at high levels. We are in the age of the talent shortage, companies find it more difficult than ever today to find talent, but the new generations know very well what type of reality they want to work for and have integrated leadership, which really invests in D&I. At the same time, new women conquer important stages. Italy has its first female Premier, Giorgia Meloni and the first female president of the Court of Cassation, Margherita Cassano. The fact that some of the most important positions in our country are now occupied by women is an expression of all that we should understand by “empowerment”, or enhancement of talents and opportunities».