ORobjective: to keep women’s attention high and to support the Iranian population who are fighting for freedom. The Coop campaign for gender inclusion “Close the Gap. Let’s reduce the differences”, now in its third year, collects the results. AND invites everyone to mobilize action: send a protest postcard to the Iranian Embassy in Italy. The postcard “Woman. Life. Freedom.” on one side it has long and thick hair with the indication to cut the hair along the dotted edge, a symbolic gesture of the protest of Iranian women that has been around the world; on the other hand, data and information on protest action in support of the population, by Amnesty International Italy. At the bottom your signature to be affixed.
On March 8, make your voice heard for Iranian women
Italian activist Parisa Mazara. Photo by Marco Optico.
Approximately 2 million copies of the paper postcard will be printed in national weeklies as well as in all Coop magazines for members. These will be accompanied by the possibility of digital membership on the site www.e-coop.it starting March 8 and running until the end of April. A sort of postcard bombing so as not to turn off the light on the protest movement, a campaign supported by Iranian activist Parisa Nazari and Amnesty International Italy. From September 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini, guilty of improperly wearing the veil, it is estimated that over 400 protesters have died at the hands of the security forces and of the paramilitary ones, which make a reckless and illegal use of firearms. Among these, there are at least 50 minors whose lives were cut short by bullets, shotgun pellets or beatings: girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 17. Over 20,000 people were arrested and, in many cases, subjected to torture to obtain confessions that will be used as evidence in trials involving the death penalty. (source Amnesty International Italy).
Iranian women: lobbying to save lives
“What my people need today is not to be forgotten, that the spotlights of the world do not go out on the unheard-of violence that is taking place,” says Parisa Nazari, who fled Iran as a young girl. «It’s a delicate moment. Hundreds of girls are poisoned in schools, four demonstrators have already been hanged. It is essential that we talk about it. The religious government lost legitimacy for its own people when it started massacring defenseless people, killing children and minors, shooting very young girls in the eyes and genitals. Iran is a young country, with a highly educated population. And men took to the streets to demonstrate alongside women. Civil society has made great strides, men have not left women alone. The Islamic Republic is running out of time» concludes the activist Nazari.
Marco Pedroni, president of Coop Italia, launches the campaign “Donna. Life. Freedom.” for the Iranian people. Photo by Marco Optico.
On the side of the new dads
Even in Italy, society runs faster than the laws: another element of Close the Gap 2023 is the renewed support for the petition of Movimenta, #allapari parentsfor the extension of mandatory paternity leave up to three months, which launched in 2022, reached almost 50,000 signatures in the year. The relaunch now comes from the fruitful union with the other petition hosted by Change.org with the same purpose: “3-month paternity leave effective immediately!” promoted by Girolamo Grammatico, a father who is involved in education by profession.
Actions to reduce the gap in Italy
Regarding gender inclusion, the proportion of female Coop employees continues to rise and exceeds 70%, the percentage of women in management roles rose by over 34% (34.7% compared to 34% in the previous year and 32% in 2020). No step backwards for the presence of women on the boards of cooperatives (41.5%) and the presence of women among the elected members in the various representative bodies of the territories increases significantly (52.6%, +1.6% compared to the previous figure) . «For us it is important to carry out a project for gender inclusion in Italy» says Maura Latini, managing director of Coop Italia. «This has been a very difficult year from an economic point of view, as we all know. Despite this, Coop has decided not to back down on this issue and indeed to commit itself, making an extra effort given the times. We would like to remind you that gender equality is not a slogan. Coop takes concrete actions and we first of all ask our own employees and then also our suppliers to do so».
Italian activist Parisa Mazara (right) supporting the Coop campaign ”Donna.Vita. Freedom.” Photo by Marco Optico.
An award for the most virtuous behaviours
Result? An award to the most virtuous Coop suppliers in terms of inclusion and gender equality: companies pioneering the equitable distribution of parenting duties by granting their new fathers a longer period of parental leave than required by law, companies that offer employees tailor-made services suitable for reconciling life with time of work and who are committed to increasing the number of women in roles of responsibility and with an average salary paid to women employees that is higher than that of men. An example: the Chico Mendes cooperative deserved the Close the gap award for its projects on welfare and quality of work in aid of small producers in the southern hemisphere, projects from which a restaurant and a community bakery run entirely by women were born in Brazil. Lastly, mention goes to Dial, a Trentino company specialized in the processing of dried mushrooms, for its innovation in employee listening activities and the offer of tailor-made services suitable for reconciling life time with work time.
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