FIt pays to raise women. To companies, to the country system. Girls are better than their classmates at school and university; but then they run aground. Even today in Italy only one woman out of two works, we are last in Europe. What to do? A step forward has been taken with the decree of 29 April 2022 signed by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family of the Draghi government, Elena Bonetti, which established the parameters for the certification of gender equality for businessesA precious opportunity that promotes the growth of female talent, reducing the gap between the sexes in wages and careers, and protecting parenthood. So far it’s working well, but we need to continue monitoring. To continue and avoid skids. As Elena Bonetti, today a deputy for Action, explains to us.
How did the gender equality certification come about?
It was born with the National Strategy for Gender Equality that we launched with the Draghi government in 2021 after also consulting associations and businesses. From there we started to establish the parameters to improve the labor market and the entrepreneurial system. Unlike other certifications, this one does not give a simple assessment of the state of affairs, but defines the improvement processes to be carried out. There is not gender washinga sticker is not enough to feel good.
Which areas are evaluated and how?
There are six areas of evaluation: culture and strategy, governance, human resources, career opportunities and inclusion of women, equal pay, parental protection and work-life balance. For each of these six areas there are KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), i.e. quality indicators, which are broken down differently depending on the size of the company and the production sector, following the Ateco codes. We wanted a transversal and flexible tool, capable of adapting to the Italian fabric rich in small and medium-sized enterprises, and to many different situations. You can’t just do a quantitative evaluation of the process, you also need a qualitative one.
Elena Bonetti, former minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, now MP for Action. Photo Ilaria Magliocchetti Lombi / Contrasto.
Thinking specifically of small and medium-sized businesses, won’t it be a burden for them to obtain certification, both in terms of costs and commitment?§We wanted there to be specific financing from the Pnrr for them, precisely because the company that wants to start a journey needs someone to help it reorganize and make changes. These are consultancies that have a cost but also a beneficial effect, because you can work on weak points and improve productivity. We remind you that certification is voluntary, upon request.
What are the advantages for those who join?
Two: the first is an exemption on social security contributions of up to 50 thousand euros per year. Therefore, you pay less taxes. A discount that was structurally financed by the Draghi government with a 50 million euro fund from 2022. The second provided for a reward score in public procurement and a decrease in the guarantee fee that the company must pay. These last two points were first canceled by the Meloni government, which then reintroduced the bonus but not the discount on the guarantee.
How is it going?
Very good. 1632 certifications have already been issued, many more than expected. And the first results are positive. At the beginning many feared that it was just a formal, bureaucratic fact, but instead they discovered that it changes the working dynamic. We can already see better efficiency of the production process, greater well-being of employees, therefore higher quality of work and the possibility of enhancing skills. Furthermore, international studies show that companies with female leadership and governance based also on diversity are better able to face complex challenges, are more resilient and know how to seize innovations quickly.
Can a company committed to tackling the gender gap be more attractive to young people?
Of course, this measure also serves to combat brain drain. Today boys and girls are looking for a profitable position not only for the salary but for personal and professional growth; a stimulating, lively job, which does not force them to choose between family and work, which leaves room for personal life in harmony with professional life. This is a key issue for a country with low wages and few births like ours. The data shows that young Italians want to have children like their peers in other countries. Only ours don’t realize this dream, they don’t succeed. At the same time we have a potential ruling class of girls who we have trained with high results but who then occupy less qualified roles than their classmates. With this system we want to push for the development not of a single company but of the entire country. We need the best energies.
Honorable Bonetti, are you sure that this certification of gender equality has no weaknesses?
It seems to me that he is giving very positive answers. The monitoring mechanism involves the social partners and it is important that a review is taken in a couple of years to see where to improve. However, it would be serious to take a step back, not get involved and stay where you are, out of inertia. Certification is not a bureaucratic act, a burden of paperwork, but allows us to give more competitive value. The results for the country are long-term, but those for companies can be seen immediately.
However, there is a problem: the supply chain. How can a certified company check that there is compliance with the parameters at all levels, for example among suppliers, or in the processing of raw materials?
This is an extra step, another element of development. The large company that has obtained certification can intervene upstream, in the supply chain, and support small ones. There are already those who are doing it.
Meanwhile, the employment rate of women between 20 and 64 in Italy remains 55 percent, compared to an EU average of 69.3. Too low a figure. What else can be done to improve it?
We have tried with an integrated reform, law 32/2022, i.e. the Family Act. The certification goes in the right direction, but more tax advantages should be given to companies, the reform of parental leave should be continued as envisaged by the Family Act, increase incentives for women to work. I think the tax relief recently foreseen for permanent workers was a mistake. Rather, we must use the single allowance for children which is increased for all workers, even those with a VAT number. Then invest in company welfare, STEM skills, nursery schools, full-time employment. The concrete measures are already law. We need to make them enforceable.
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