Gender equality has become an increasingly important issue for Italian companies. And despite some progress, data show that there are still significant challenges to be addressed. This is why the “Gender Equality Certification System,” an intervention of the PNRR-National Recovery and Resilience Plan, was created to support companies in adopting appropriate policies to reduce the gender gap in the workplace and promote women’s professional growth.
The figures of the gender gap in Italy
According to recent data from Eurostat, the employment rate of women in Italy stands at around 50 percent, which is well below the European average of 65 percent. It is surprising to note that countries such as Sweden and Denmark boast female employment rates above 75 percent.
In addition, Italy still has a low number of women in leadership positions compared to other European countries. Currently, only 31 percent of managers in Italy are women, while countries such as Norway and France boast more than 40 percent.
Nor can we overlook the persistent problem of the Gender Pay Gap in our country: on average, Italian women earn about 16 percent less than men, a gap that exceeds the European average.
Gender Equality Certification: an opportunity to measure the state of the organization and bridge the gap
In short, there is still a long way to go for Italian organizations to close the gender gap.
The Gender Equality Certification introduced with the NRP aims to promote in companies the adoption of policies that move in this direction, with a focus on crucial issues such as:
- the opportunities for growth in the company
- wage equality
- maternity protection.
Let’s look at its characteristics.
It is open to all enterprises, regardless of their size.
While large companies and multinational corporations have already taken actions to promote gender equality, consistent with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Small and Medium Enterprises see certification as an opportunity to assess the current situation and understand where they stand with respect to gender equality.
The certification pathway provides guidelines and an objective method of evaluation.
The assessment covers 6 areas, each of which is described by quantitative or qualitative KPIs with thresholds, allowing companies to assess different aspects and gain an overall view of their current situation.
The areas are:
- leadership and governance
- corporate culture and well-being
- recruitment and staff development
- remuneration policies
- work-life balance
- diversity and inclusion.
KPIs make it possible to analyze the impact of actions taken on corporate culture and processes and provide a clear indication of areas that require further effort and investment to promote greater equality.
The ultimate goal is to push for concrete and sustainable change.
By measuring the existing gap, identifying critical areas and prioritizing interventions, companies can direct their resources and efforts toward effective actions that promote gender equality and inclusion by integrating gender equality values into corporate DNA.
Toward gender equality: Certification as the starting point of a path of cultural transformation
The real opportunity that Certification offers can only be grasped if we do not fall into the mistake of seeing it as the end point.
The real challenge is to think of it as the first step to be taken to increase actions with a view to constantly improving standards, toward a change that is primarily cultural.
It must be the beginning of a path to inclusion: diversity, in fact, guarantees more value, more growth and more wealth for the organization, just as gender equality should be understood as a driver of development and not a label or marketing choice.
Therefore, it is critical that it become a corporate priority: simply encouraging the promotion of more women into leadership positions will not easily result in substantial change.
Gender Gap: how are Italian companies doing?
We asked Marcella Loporchio, Business Consultant and expert trainer in Human Power. Reflections on real cases, perceptions and epic failures in the following interview
Why should companies embrace gender equality?
In addition to the ethical issue, ensuring equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities has a positive impact on the success and results of the organization. It allows you to outperform the competition in each of these four categories:
- increased profitability
- revenue growth
- innovation
- employee satisfaction.
In fact, a study by Diversity Brand Index 2022 shows that companies with greater maturity and awareness of the value and strength of diversity and inclusion issues perceive an increase in Net Promoter Score, or customer loyalty, and experience greater revenue growth (+23%) than companies perceived as less inclusive.
Another benefit of gender equality lies in being able to attract top talent at a time in history when the war to find it rages in all sectors. Let us not forget that talent is a competitive advantage-it is difficult for companies to maintain their competitiveness without developing business plans that promote female talent in leadership roles.
The virtuous example of “First Mover” companies.
For organizations to reap the benefits of inclusive leadership, they must make gender equality a formal strategic priority, value women’s contributions as much as men’s, and promote equal career advancement.
Companies known as “First Mover” are pioneering on the issue. Aware that organizations that include both genders are more successful and of their responsibility to take concrete action, they have made women’s career advancement a formal priority and count more women in leadership positions than others.
What actions have these organizations taken?
- Career development plans specific to the needs of women
- Reducing bias by equitably measuring the performance of men and women
- Equal training opportunities for men and women
- Promotion of a corporate culture that embraces women’s leadership styles.
The path to making sure that gender equality is not just a “vignette,” but an asset inherent in the corporate culture, therefore, is a long one with a before, during, and after. And is your company ready?
