Some say that 8 March is an outdated anniversary that highlights even more the discrimination between men and women, arguing that “women should be celebrated every day”. Moreover, could this statement about gender make this festival appear no longer in keeping with today’s world?

It is not the “Women's Festival” but the “International Women's Day”: its aim is to remember the civil, political and social achievements that women have made and the discrimination and violence they still suffer today. More than twenty thousand New York shirt-makers had supported a long strike, from 22 November 1908 to 15 February 1909, to assert their rights that led the American delegates at the second International Conference of Socialist Women (August 1910) to propose the establishment of a day dedicated to women’s social demands. In Italy it was celebrated for the first time in 1922. The choice of the mimosa as a symbol was almost obligatory: it is one of the few flowers that bloom at that time of the year and at the time it had another value: it cost nothing! Nowadays, this date has lost much of its meaning associated with struggle and has gradually been watered down rhetorically to become an occasion with purely commercial undertones. In ritual style, the institutions themselves declare their interest in what they call the “Issue of Women”, and then lose sight of it for the rest of the year. A pink-washed event.

The pandemic has had a devastating effect on women. What are your thoughts about this?

In crisis situations, all contradictions come to the surface and are further accentuated. In particular, inequalities become increasingly evident and bitter: those between the haves and have-nots, between those with and without guarantees and those between various categories. And between the sexes: the oldest and most obstinate. Let’s take a look at the cases in question:

• Violence: domestic violence has tripled during the COVID emergency.  Compulsory 24/7 cohabitation for many women has become a nightmare. The abusive cohabitant can adopt even more coercive and aggressive behaviour in a context of uncertainty and financial instability.
• Family care: the closure of schools and day-care centres for people who are not self-sufficient has greatly increased the amount of domestic and care work. Covid has highlighted the fact that the traditional female roles of self-care, care for others and care for the world are paradigms of common interest that support life but they are not considered work.
• Employment: in the year of the pandemic outbreak, the female employment rate fell to 49% after exceeding the 50% threshold for the first time in 2019. In addition, as regards those who lose their jobs, women are the ones less likely to return.

If we return to so-called normality, at the end of this pandemic, this tragedy won’t have taught us anything.

We have fought for equality between men and women for centuries and in the light of all we have experienced and achieved, what kind of society will our daughters have to cope with?

Formal equality (de jure) is only a first step towards material equality (de facto). In Italy we have conquered the first but, for far too many, the second is still a mirage.

Several changes have been made, but they are not enough to help us forget that there is still lots to do and that in recent years we have regressed, hiding behind the comfortable alibi that everything has already been achieved.  The discrimination that still affects women in the labour market, in political representation and in the division of domestic tasks is the result of a culture imbued with stereotypes and prejudices that have been dented but not dashed by legislation. When it becomes the filter used to look at reality, it ties people to habits which they find difficulty in disengaging from. It affects the role one assumes in relationships, the educational and professional path one decides to undertake, the choosing of a partner and the education of one’s offspring.

The educational plan adopted by each social agency, primarily the family, is essential for the formation of identities, languages and orientations that do not deny the existence of differences (or conversely enhance them) but do not transform them into inequality that has historically characterised relations between men and women. It is likely that it will take generations to overcome the impact of a map of rules that have been confirmed for centuries: but at least we have begun to try, and the new freedoms enjoyed by our daughters are the result of our efforts.

The number of women in top positions are still so few and far between despite the fact that women’s skills are at least equal to those of their male colleagues. Is it the fault of women because they don't know how to make a team together?

It is a well-known fact that women are not good at uniting with each other: they all see each other as rivals, even on Olympus (the Apple of Discord!). There is an inkling of truth in this statement. As with any gender stereotype, feminist movements are struggling to dismantle it, weaving networks of female solidarity such as the Equal Opportunities Committees that are the result of and bear witness to this struggle.

This is a fact with a well-established history, that has governed the relationships of power and reserved an unfavourable standard for women, consisting of borders, prohibitions, limitations, exclusions, constraints, discrimination and expropriations. A negative stereotype not only conditions the privilege-holders but, in many cases, it also conditions the stigmatised individuals who, in time, take the stereotype on board in order to be accepted, adapt to it and end up by embodying it.

In addition, we should not forget that male camaraderie has been built up over the centuries through activities that women were excluded from: primarily sport and war, where victory depends on the ability to work as a team. Confined to their own homes, women have, if anything, developed a family-based solidarity.

In recent years, ENAV has acquired important tools to combat discriminatory phenomena and most recently, the Regulation against abuse and harassment in the workplace. Companies represent an important safeguard in this fight: is what they are doing enough to protect their human resources?

Not all companies show the same sensitivity, yet their role is crucial for achieving a level playing field for both women and men in the workplace.

I have recently experienced this on many occasions and also in a well-received conference on the topic organised by ENAV, a company that has welcomed the stimuli towards development on this issue in terms of raising awareness among its human resources, demonstrating its desire to be an attentive and inclusive company. At another important multinational company where I recently held a course over several weeks on languages, stereotypes and prejudices related to gender, I found the same intention.

The countless initiatives that are held on a daily basis in schools, in the offices of groups and associations, in public administrations at all levels and in trade unions are equally important and rewarding. There’s a lot happening, and that’s a good thing.

In December, the Equal Opportunities Code was amended with the introduction of gender certification. The provisions supporting companies in paths of development on gender equality issues are multiplying, but why should the success of women or their equality with men be sanctioned and pursued through legal provisions, with the inclusion perhaps of some grant?

Italy ranks 14th in the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality, with a score of 63.5 points out of 100, 4.4 points below the EU average. It is estimated that if women’s employment reached as little as 60%, it would lead to a 7% increase in GDP. In compliance with the strategic objectives of the PNRR, Italian Law no. 16/2021 amended the Equal Opportunities Code to try to reverse the trend that delays women’s participation in the labour market and causes disadvantageous differences in pay and career paths for women. Companies that achieve positive certification with respect to various indicators (equal conditions in career paths, equal pay for equal skills, forms of maternity support) will actually receive a discount on the welfare contributions paid to the State and will enjoy certain advantages in gaining access to calls for tenders and public funds. The amounts allocated are negligible, but as an innovation it is important and encourages companies to reflect on the issue and look for concrete solutions; this will allow them to access welfare contribution concessions if they are certified as fair. While one can agree that the visibility for companies embarking on a virtuous path is right, the monetary “prize” they can have access to demonstrates that it will still take some time before gender equality is no longer considered a cost which companies should receive compensation for, but as an advantage and an element of social justice as defined in the key objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.