Cremains in Italy is the number of women in leadership positions be the female employment rate, and at a higher rate than men. But the topic of women and work remains a burning one. As the wage gap remains, even though male workers are less educated than women. And with striking data relating to the gender pay gap, especially in STEM professions. This is what emerges from the report Rome Business School Gender Gap and work in Italy.
Women and work, the (somewhat) encouraging data on occupations and managers
In Italy, in 2023, the women at the top of companies (with the role of CEO), rose to 24% from 20% in 2022. As did those with senior management roles: 34% compared to 30% the previous year.
Even in the world, compared to 2022, there is an increase in the number of women at the top. But the gap remains. Although women represent 41.9% of the global workforcein 2023, according to LinkedIn data, the presence of women in leadership positions, such as C-Suite roles, directors or vice presidents, is 32.3%with a gap of almost 10 percentage points compared to men.
Positive signs also emerge on the front of female employment in general, which in Italy rose from 46.2% in 2009 to 52.2% in 2023, with a increase of 6.1 percentage points (Eurostat, in the same period male employment grew by only 2.5%). But, in the same period, female employment in the EU grew by 9 points percentages.
«To preserve their role in society, men have excluded women»
«Convergence towards gender equality will require a common and responsible commitment in the coming years which will have to involve the entire population, especially the male gender who for too many years has been accustomed to preserving its role in societyexcluding or limiting the direct participation of women”, explains the economist Europe Research Center Massimiliano Parco, among the authors of the report together with Francesco Baldi, Professor of the International Master in Finance of Rome Business School, and Valerio Mancini, Director of the Dissemination Research Center of Rome Business School.
Women and work, they are more educated… and worse paid
In Italy according to ISTAT data, in 2021, female graduates are equal to 57.2%. It is curious to note that the regions of the Adriatic-Ionian coast, in addition to Sardinia, have on average higher percentages of female graduates than the other regions: Abruzzo (61.8%), Sicily (61.7%), Basilicata and Puglia (61, 5%), Molise (61.4%) and Marche (61.2%).
The most striking data are those on the gender pay gap. The wage gap between men and women in Italy has not changed much in recent years. «Finance and STEM professions are the sectors in which the greatest gaps are highlighted, with an hourly wage for male employees exceeding 2 euros per hour which reaches 5 euros in financial services», explains Francesco Baldi.
Stem professions, startups and e-commerce: the sectors that reward women
Despite the increase in women in scientific faculties, only 30% of occupations in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and computer science) is represented by women (WEF 2023 data). While in non-STEM professions the percentage of employed women is 49.3%.
The real growth engine for Italian women-owned companies is that ofe-commerce, with 26.8% of female businesses active in this sector. While women in start-ups are still a minority. Both globally, with an average of 5% (EU Commission, 2023). Both in Italy: despite the funding opportunities and specific objectives of the PNRR, female-dominated start-ups have grown very littlegoing only from 13.17% to 13.71% from 2021 to 2023.
Women make business grow, the data says so
The data from the World Economic Forum say it (2023): the inclusion of women in companies can increase global GDP by up to 35%. Looking at the EU economy, reducing the gender gap could lead to growth in GDP per capita of the European Union from 6.1% to 9.6% by 2050 (European Institute for Gender Equality).
Still. Boston Consulting Group highlights that in 2022, companies with at least 30% female executives recorded a 15% increase in profitability. And it specifies that companies with at least three female executives have a median increase in ROE of 11 percentage points higher over five years.
«It is not just an issue linked to denied equality», explains Valerio Mancini: «Sector studies demonstrate how the inclusion and equal opportunities of women they increase company well-being and productivity. Gender equality represents an aspect that no company should give up, not only from an ethical but also a business point of view.”
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