Bocconi Discusses Gender Equality with Elena Bonetti
Despite research clearly showing that gender equality and balanced leadership between men and women are associated with better performance, better talent selection, greater economic growth and more effective policies, no country in the world yet shows true gender equality. The last two years of the pandemic have only exacerbated the situation, suggesting what has been called she-cession, precisely to show that the economic situation had the greatest impact on women's employment. The situation and the challenges to be faced in terms of gender equality will be discussed on 7 March at 2 pm at SDA Bocconi (via Sarfatti 10, Aula Grande) in the meeting "Gender Equality: Challenges ahead from she-cession to she-recovery" organized by the AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality of Bocconi.
The event will open with institutional greetings from the Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno, and will include a speech by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Elena Bonetti. Silvia Candiani, CEO of Microsoft Italia, and Giacomo Gigantiello, CEO of AXA Italia (view full program) will also participate in the proceedings.
The meeting stems from the research activity of the AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality, directed by Paola Profeta, which in numerous studies and in different areas has shed light on the impact of low gender equality on the economy and society, and the role of the pandemic.
The Lab's studies highlight the extent of she-cession generated by the pandemic. Unlike previous economic crises, this time the service sector was the most directly involved. This is an area in which most working women are employed, and it was badly hit by the restrictive measures. But the hard blow suffered by families also weighs heavily. If on the one hand the spread of smart working has favored the increase in the percentage of home care and children by men, on the other hand the pandemic has amply shown how much the surplus of domestic work has fallen mainly on the shoulders of women, exacerbating pre-existing differences. Even in couples where both partners worked at home, women increased daily hours of domestic work from 2.52 before the pandemic to an average of 3 hours during the first wave, while men went from 1.26 to 1.57.
"In a country like Italy, for decades at the bottom of Europe for female employment rate, the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing imbalances", explains Paola Profeta, full professor of public economics. "The good news is that men have found themselves more exposed to family care activities and that experimentation with flexible working has accelerated. It is less positive, however, to see that in reality women have increased the housework and care activities more than men and that we are far from a virtuous use of work flexibility. "On the front of women's empowerment, the Lab's studies have highlighted the beneficial effects of female leadership in different contexts in the pre-pandemic situation.
Can we speak of "she-recovery"? The evidence of the Lab's research is that women have behaved more virtuously than men, with greater attention to compliance with the rules and restrictive measures. Women leaders have also paid more attention to some aspects that most affect the lives of families, such as the closure of schools. In Italy, in 2020 women political leaders were more sensitive than men to certain categories of public spending, such as social spending.
"The goal of the AXA Research Lab on Gender equality, created with the AXA Research Fund and Bocconi University, is to promote the knowledge and raise awareness necessary for society to progress on the challenge of equality, to create a culture of change. We have made significant progress, but there is still a long way to go," commemts Giacomo Gigantiello, CEO of AXA ITALIA Group. "Women are fundamental to economic and social development, they are a vital force. As an insurer, AXA has a key role to play in helping to achieve an inclusive and resilient society. This is part of our purpose: we act for human progress, protecting what matters. It is what we are committed to developing in our daily business, towards our people, customers and society, because it is strongly anchored in our corporate culture based on inclusion, diversity and care."
View the complete program of the event here