Farosa roundtable at the 62nd FARO Club Main Meeting: how to reduce the Gender Gap in Italian industry?

The Gender Gap in Italian companies, the pay and management gap between men and women, was the topic of the Farosa Roundtable during the 62nd FARO Club Main Meeeting in Brescia last June 21. Focus on industry

According to the World Economic Forum’s Report 2022, Italy ranks 63rd in the world for the composite index on the Gender Gap. Francesca Caputo, Head Hunter of the highly qualified personnel search and selection company Profili ( her speech ) says: “In my work, I increasingly find female candidates for managerial roles, in line with the figure of 13.5% growth in the placement of female managers in Italian companies.

Today in the private sector in Italy only 18% of top positions are held by men, compared to 36% on a global scale. The figures vary by sector and role: ‘They range from 40%-45% of female executives and managers in services, social work and education, to 15% in historically male-dominated activities. Women managers are more numerous in HR, Finance, Administration, Marketing. Less in R&D, Technical Management, Operations’.

“The literature on the subject,” notes Caputo, “tells us that organisations that have the ability to balance typically male leadership traits with typically female ones have higher indicators of competitive advantage. Women are generally more creative and empathic, have better interpersonal and listening skills, skills that today are the keys to success for new leadership models. Therefore, the diffusion of these soft skills is today a fundamental factor of competitive companies in the market’.

Francesca Caputo summarises:

– new awareness among decision-makers

– strong sponsorship for change

– adequate internal communication

– real interventions on corporate culture

– flexible working policies

– managerial support and training with evaluation criteria linked to inclusion

– feeding the debate on the topic

Marta Barbieri – Supply Chain Director – SitGroup
Chiara Cianca – Sourcing Leader – Sit Group
Libera Anna Insalata – HR Director Metering Division & Head of HR Group Functions Sit Group
Francesca Caputo – Head Hunter and Recruiter Consultant – Profili Srl
Soraya Pintor Requena – Director of Raw Materials Procurement – Cunext Group