WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
According to the data produced by Censis, in Italy live almost 31 million women, the 51.3% of the population. The 53% of them graduates on schedule (vs the 48% of men) and with a higher average grade. In other words: women are more, and they study more profitably. Nevertheless, they don’t work as much as men and they are not appreciated that much: among the women from 15 to 64 years old, Istat states, one in two works. And according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, only 15% of companies has a woman among the top managers. In this way we lose precious resources: female presence in top positions improves business results. This is confirmed by many studies: according to the International Labour Organisation, three quarters of the companies that monitored the impact of gender diversity reported a profitably improvement between 5 and 20%. Everyone knows that the ceiling glass represents a brake on the development, but the interventions with the aim to change the corporate culture and the stereotypical mindset are still not strong enough. This project, in collaboration with the publishing group Class, wants to detect positive models able to question the negative bias about women’s leadership; this through the production of tv shows. Every episode is about a specific topic and involves people from the project Musa and the hosts of Class CNBC.
TEAM
W LEADERSHIP:
APPOINTMENT WITH WOMAN LEADERSHIP
There are women who can make a difference, who inspire new generations, who change conventions and overcome stereotypes. W Leadership is a TV format and a podcast created precisely with this objective: to tell the story of a woman from studies to the world of work. Four episodes to get started, made thanks to the know-how of ClassCnbc, the economic-financial TV of Class Editori, aired on ClassCnbc/Sky 507, streaming on the milanofinanza.it website and on the ClassCnbc App.
Curated by Marilisa D’Amico, Giulia Pessani, Jole Saggese and Cecilia Siccardi
OUR PARTNERS
WHAT DO WE DO
NEW ROLE MODELS FOR A NEW LEADERSHIP
INTERVIEW WITH MARILISA D’AMICO – Pro-rector of the Third Mission and Equal Rights
Unfortunately, the so called “ceiling glass” is still a strong theme in Italy. Is it a problem of stereotypes to overcome? Or is it about the company’s organization, which is still anchored to old schemes?
Unfortunately, in our country we are still rooted to a masculine work culture; models that put women in disadvantage, especially when we speak about top positions. It is a culture based on archaic stereotypes, that affects the business organizational models.
Are there juridical aspects, besides the organization of work, that we should change to open up to women’s careers?
Yes, since 2021, with the implementation of the obligation to respect gender quotas in the administrative boards of listed companies, we have already done a lot. A useful measure, since it ensured the women’s admission in the decision-making structures. However, quotas aren’t enough: we need measures able to balance personal time and work time and that value the best practices at the corporate level. A good example is the law 162/2021 which introduced the gender equality certificate.
In the context of Human Hall, which is the approach of the women’s leadership project?
It is an innovative approach, which uses narrative codes to introduce focal themes, such as the comparison with positive role models, useful to overcome gender stereotypes. It is a project born in collaboration with Class Editore, that involves the creation of a TV Show made from 12 episodes broadcasted on all the channels of Class CNBC. Every episode will host researchers, experts of the project Human Hall, and women who play an important role in the working world that will speak about women’s leadership. The purpose is to tell the challenges, opportunities, difficulties that these women met in their successful career path, giving positive models as a reference.
A TV Show, an important media partner. UniMi will continue to use new languages to change the reality as we perceive it?
Yes, it is a path that we are following on more levels. For instance, in collaboration with the Comune di Milano we realized a Vademecum about inclusive language in the University. But that’s not all. We focus on language, on the semantic of gender equality, because we can change the substance of the rights through language too. We will work with schools. And with other tasks of Human Hall we will introduce in companies the good practices related to a multidisciplinary approach to gender equality. This is the spirit of our hub: a multidisciplinary approach to develop the field research for inclusion.
Does a model of women’s leadership exist?
The path that allowed women to break the ceiling glass and reach top positions in every sector, from politics to business, has been difficult and long. Nowadays, also thanks to important regulatory measures, we have made a lot of improvements and so, a lot of women work in top positions. However, I think it’s impossible to identify just one single model of “female” leadership, women are leaders in different ways, according to their workplace and their personal and professional stories. There are some women who are keen to homologate to the male model. This is evident for instance in the fact that some women still use the masculine suffix to indicate their job. The first woman Prime Minister in the history of Italy that chooses the word “Presidente” is an example.
However, there are also women that reclaim their femininity as leaders, and so they want to experience new leadership models.
The aim of our project is to observe the different types of female leadership, trying to identify positive models for the future generations, women, and men.
Unfortunately, the so called “ceiling glass” is still a strong theme in Italy. Is it a problem of stereotypes to overcome? Or is it about the company’s organization, which is still anchored to old schemes?
Unfortunately, in our country we are still rooted to a masculine work culture; models that put women in disadvantage, especially when we speak about top positions. It is a culture based on archaic stereotypes, that affects the business organizational models.
Are there juridical aspects, besides the organization of work, that we should change to open up to women’s careers?
Yes, since 2021, with the implementation of the obligation to respect gender quotas in the administrative boards of listed companies, we have already done a lot. A useful measure, since it ensured the women’s admission in the decision-making structures. However, quotas aren’t enough: we need measures able to balance personal time and work time and that value the best practices at the corporate level. A good example is the law 162/2021 which introduced the gender equality certificate.
In the context of Human Hall, which is the approach of the women’s leadership project?
It is an innovative approach, which uses narrative codes to introduce focal themes, such as the comparison with positive role models, useful to overcome gender stereotypes. It is a project born in collaboration with Class Editore, that involves the creation of a TV Show made from 12 episodes broadcasted on all the channels of Class CNBC. Every episode will host researchers, experts of the project Human Hall, and women who play an important role in the working world that will speak about women’s leadership. The purpose is to tell the challenges, opportunities, difficulties that these women met in their successful career path, giving positive models as a reference.
A TV Show, an important media partner. UniMi will continue to use new languages to change the reality as we perceive it?
Yes, it is a path that we are following on more levels. For instance, in collaboration with the Comune di Milano we realized a Vademecum about inclusive language in the University. But that’s not all. We focus on language, on the semantic of gender equality, because we can change the substance of the rights through language too. We will work with schools. And with other tasks of Human Hall we will introduce in companies the good practices related to a multidisciplinary approach to gender equality. This is the spirit of our hub: a multidisciplinary approach to develop the field research for inclusion.
Does a model of women’s leadership exist?
The path that allowed women to break the ceiling glass and reach top positions in every sector, from politics to business, has been difficult and long. Nowadays, also thanks to important regulatory measures, we have made a lot of improvements and so, a lot of women work in top positions. However, I think it’s impossible to identify just one single model of “female” leadership, women are leaders in different ways, according to their workplace and their personal and professional stories. There are some women who are keen to homologate to the male model. This is evident for instance in the fact that some women still use the masculine suffix to indicate their job. The first woman Prime Minister in the history of Italy that chooses the word “Presidente” is an example.
However, there are also women that reclaim their femininity as leaders, and so they want to experience new leadership models.
The aim of our project is to observe the different types of female leadership, trying to identify positive models for the future generations, women, and men.
Marilisa D’Amico, Cecilia Siccardi
