What does gender equality mean to you?
I believe that gender equality is not a mathematical question and cannot be discussed in terms of percentage quotas. For this reason, I think that when we reflect on ‘how many women are present in a certain sector or in a specific company,’ we are approaching the issue from the wrong perspective. Gender equality is primarily a matter of values, a goal that can only be considered achieved when this cultural substrate that assigns defined and prioritized social and professional roles to genders is definitively overcome. As I have often emphasized on many occasions, I firmly believe that this cultural change can only happen with active participation of women who, very often, consciously choose roles/positions in line with the so-called behavioral expectations of our society.

How much can gender stereotypes impact a woman’s career development?
Today, there is a great deal of attention on this issue. However, when a woman approaches a managerial profession or finds herself in a situation of potential career advancement, there is often a strong reflection and doubt among her interlocutors. Even when the focus is strongly on skills, there is a spontaneous concern about whether this woman will be able to balance work and family life, devoting all the necessary energy to work. This is an aspect that never comes into play when the candidate is a man. However, it is important to note that it is not always a gender bias related to capabilities but rather an unconscious concern about whether the external world, our society, and the general context will allow her to dedicate all the necessary time and dedication to work.
Nevertheless, there are objective difficulties in balancing work and family life, a theme that mainly concerns women because their career is often considered secondary to that of their husband or partner. Cultural stereotypes also come into play, sometimes almost unconsciously, so that a woman who also focuses on her professional advancement often feels constantly under scrutiny: both from colleagues and superiors who are unsure of her availability and focus, and from civil society, which judges them for their presumed misinterpretation of the family role. Fortunately, the world is changing, even though we cannot yet speak of complete substantive equality, in addition to formal equality, in career development.

Have concrete actions been taken regarding gender equality within your company?
I consider myself fortunate because I work in a group that pays a lot of attention to these issues. In fact, to correctly establish the concept, I would say that the group does not consider gender a discriminating factor in evaluating the professionalism of its employees, and the position I hold is a demonstration of this.
The point is precisely this: I believe it is not a matter of taking actions for gender equality but acting daily to make it a concrete reality and not just a formal target to achieve. I believe that the best action a company can take to pursue this goal is to act according to a culture of equity that its employees perceive daily in the work environment, thereby producing the necessary natural cultural change for gender equality to be a fact rather than a goal to reach.