Work, welfare, professional growth for women

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The fashion that works is also the best. Metaphor and rhyme aside: the companies that pay the most attention to fairness are also those that record growing revenues in the most difficult year of the last quarter century. The 5th edition of the Observatory, “Donne e Moda” developed by PwC Italia, clearly demonstrates this: with the crisis, the first to pay is female employment, at every level. Here is the short list of the 2nd edition of the awards to those who have not changed their strategies, which will be presented this evening, during a dance evening on the stage of the Piccolo Teatro Strehler in Milan, granted for the first time, and the calls for the degree awards in STEM disciplines with Bicocca and Bocconi University will be announced.

To put it positively, in companies where women enjoy equal recognition and are in top positions to the same extent as men, revenues and profits also seem to proceed in proportion. Whether they have a turnover of one billion or one hundred million, they grow in almost identical percentages even in a difficult moment like this, "challenging" as lovers of creative clichés say. This data can be deduced with a certain ease from the results of the fifth edition of the "Osservatorio Donne e Moda", developed by PwC Italia in collaboration with "Il Foglio della moda", and emerges equally clearly from the short list of the second edition of the award assigned to the most virtuous companies both in respect of equality in the so-called C-Suite, called in Italian pop the room of buttons, and in cultural policies in favor of the growth of the company and society and in welfare initiatives: where women find an environment that supports them and supports them also in family life, the company prospers . We are supported by the international organization W20, where I deal with the Cultural Change Commission, but it would be interesting if the Ministry of Equal Opportunities and Family also took on board some of the findings of the PwC research, which the luxury manager, Erika Andreetta, writes about on this page (she has held the same position for five years, it has become a little end-of-April ritual), summarizing a very long and demanding analysis, which involves all the associations in the sector, from the National Chamber of Fashion to Confindustria Fashion Accessories to Confindustria Moda, CNA, Unic and Altagamma.

Of this project, which has been worked on for the first part of the year, two data still deserve further investigation. The first: the slight negative variation in the presence of women on the boards of directors of large companies in the last year, which is a sign at the same time of the corporate transitions underway and the natural application of an old historical rule, never disregarded, according to which women are the first to pay the price of market turbulence (a case in point is the Tod's group, where LCatterton's entry into the capital has brought the female presence on the board of directors, previously very significant so much so that last year the company was on the short list for the "C-suite" award, to only one member). The second: the excellent performance of small manufacturing companies, often entirely made up of women and where flexibility, or simply "giving each other a hand" is a natural fact even before an application of rules. In small and medium-sized artisan businesses in the fashion industry, almost three out of four CEOs are women, sixty-nine percent of female managers are over forty-five and only 2 percent are under thirty, a figure from which it is easy to deduce that it is increasingly difficult to activate a successful start-up, or even a new business tout court, for a very young woman, while male managers in the same age group are seven times more frequent. A woman is quicker to start her own company, or to manage it skillfully as an heir (Delphine Arnault, Silvia Damiani) than to wait to make a career in a large group. There are very few top managers in conglomerates: Francesca Bellettini, deputy CEO of Kering, first in Google searches and even if you wanted to ask a question to the AI ​​inserted in your smartphone (“mirror on the wall, who is the most powerful in the kingdom”), then Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato which always means Kering, Laura Burdese in Bulgari, Silvia Onofri recently arrived at Miu Miu to replace Benedetta Petruzzo, now at the top of Dior.

With a good percentage of approximation, we can say instead that the workforce is always mostly female, in large as well as small businesses, that small businesses are largely managed by women, the founders, and that the latter are more inclined to favor, help and support colleagues and employees. It is not a question of "sisterhood", a superficial and in fact widely ignored question: it is entrepreneurial intelligence. As the general manager of Altagamma, Stefania Lazzaroni, says. “The complexity of the current context has slowed down, in some countries, the Diversity & Inclusion paths, in particular those related to gender equality. But the cultural transformation started, and strongly promoted in Europe, is now a rooted value. Indeed, it is precisely now that we must insist with coherence. Sustainability is not an accessory, but remains a priority, as is the need for a greater female presence in the world of work: in Italy only 52 percent of women work, compared to 70 percent of men. The growth of female figures in top roles is encouraging - today managers are 21% - a figure that confirms a positive trend and suggests that the direction taken is the right one. It can also be said that the difficulties of the moment have caused issues such as sustainability and social policies to slide to the bottom of the list for many companies. You will have noticed that, despite the fact that for many brands, without their own supply chain, these activities were entrusted to façonists, to third-party producers on whom all the costs of innovation were downloaded, they have nevertheless disappeared from the press releases. Maybe, and despite the reshoring in progress, they will have changed supplier, who knows. So, the short list of this edition. Last year, Brunello Cucinelli won among the big brands and Dani as small cap in the “C-Suite” category, while the Mastrotto Group won the prize in the “Work-family balance and corporate welfare” section and Gucci in the third category, “Empowerment – ​​cultural policies in favor of female careers in companies”. The awards will be assigned and delivered this evening in Milan, during a dance evening at the Piccolo Teatro Strehler, which for the first time is granting its stage and backstage to a private event, which will be left exactly as it is, that is, with the props on display and the scenography of the comedy “il vertice” by Christoph Marthaler assembled and ready for the show, with the exception of some costumes that, over the years and also recently, Antonio Marras has designed for the institution.

It will also be an opportunity to launch the new calls for Stem degrees with Bicocca University and Bocconi University, together with the winning students of the last edition, the heads of their departments and the jury. The short list was created starting from the reports received from all the trade associations to PwC Italia, which indicated particularly virtuous companies for each of the criteria subject to evaluation. The member companies of the board of directors of Camera Nazionale della Moda were added to these reports . This first group of companies was subjected to evaluation using three main tools: the analysis of the balance sheets, when available, the analysis of the initiatives available online in the field of welfare and female empowerment, the information provided by the trade associations to support the report and the information collected through individual interviews with the companies themselves. Based on the availability of the information and the quality and quantity of the initiatives carried out in the field of welfare and female empowerment, the final short list was drawn up and submitted to the jury for voting. Only companies for which it was not possible to find any type of information regarding the criteria being evaluated were excluded. For the first category, the following are on the short list: 1 – Effe.Gi.Bi. It is a company led entirely by women. The female presence on the Board of Directors is one hundred percent, and is represented by Lucia Gazzotti (Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director, former President of Centergross), Anna Gazzotti (Vice President of the Board of Directors and Director) and Giancarla Durighetto (Director) 2 - Manifattura di Domodossola: the female presence on the board of directors is 60 percent and is represented by Silvia Polli, Giulia Polli and Chiara Molteni, the latter both Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Delegate Director. 3 - Moncler. The female component in the Board of Directors is equal to 40 percent as of February 2025. In the company, 41 percent of top management is female, 52 percent of managers are women out of the total management, and furthermore 56 percent of junior managers out of the total junior managers are women, and women in revenue-generating functions are equal to 55 percent. Other peculiarities: women in STEM positions are equal to 61 percent, and the total female population is equal to 70 percent. Moncler also offers support for parenting through benefits such as greater flexible hours and additional leave for the child's needs for the first three years after birth. Two years ago it presented the new global policy for new parents, New Parents Policy, which offers all employees of the Moncler and Stone Island brands, regardless of gender, marital status or sexual and emotional orientation, sixteen weeks of fully paid parental leave. 4 – Peserico.

There are two out of four women on the board of directors: Maria Peserico and Paola Gonella, respectively CEO and director, while the female presence in top roles within the company is four in the Spa and six for the group. The company supports private nurseries through donations, and is "available to accommodate female workers with flexibility in entering or leaving to better manage accompanying their children to school, as well as if requested to grant part-time or periods of leave", in addition to contributing to the payment of training masters. For the second category, "work-family balance", they are on the short list. 1 - Crea – Si sas. Gloria Trevisani's company, which rose to world fame for having dressed singer Carrie Underwood with its Opificio Modenese brand at the inauguration ceremony of President Donald Trump, has only women among its employees, to whom it offers flexible hours and part-time and smart-working opportunities. It also donates breast ultrasound and breast exams to the staff. 2 – Eurojersey. In 2024, 42 percent of the corporate executives of the highly sustainable Varese company, creator of Sensitive Fabrics, will be women, leading strategic functions such as marketing, style, creations, sustainability, human resources and welfare . The female presence is also significant in the operational and commercial sectors: among the five Area Managers, four are women, as are numerous managers of crucial departments such as Research & Development, Certifications, Logistics and Sampling. Since 2008, Eurojersey has undertaken a structured welfare path that promotes a virtuous balance between private and working life: constant free psychological support for employees and families; supplementary health insurance; canteen with balanced meals and slow food products, company gym, pilates courses, osteopathy; flexible hours, smart working (active since 2018), facilitated part-time; company bonuses for results and assiduity; benefit platform of 250 euros per year that can be spent on services for family, culture and mobility. Since this year, the company is smoke-free. 3- Prada Group. In addition to having a female presence of 45 percent women on the board of directors, 60 percent in the board of auditors, 36 percent among attorneys and 46 percent in top and senior management, it is working hard to improve the Work-family balance and corporate welfare. It has launched a new global Parental Policy, designed to promote gender equality, work-life balance and professional inclusion.

The main provisions include: fourteen weeks of fully paid maternity or maternity leave 1, fifteen working days of fully paid paternity or maternity leave 2. The group is also committed to making the return to work as easy as possible, ensuring full salary continuity and no reduction in pay due to parental leave. Additional measures support the integration of work and family life, with additional paid leave hours for childcare up to three years and flexible working arrangements in the event of a child's serious illness. 4 - SITIP SpA, a historic company from the Bergamo area, specializing in high-performance fabrics. Its board of directors is composed of three women out of five members, while in top roles the presence of women, now a minority, is growing. The company has been promoting a work environment that is attentive to well-being for years, through a structured program that includes: corporate welfare through the conversion of the Performance Bonus (PDR) into goods and services; contractual welfare provided for by the Textile-Fashion CCNL; Supplementary health insurance (SANIMODA) and supplementary pension (PREVIMODA); electronic meal vouchers for all workers; Flexible hours for office staff; Part-time and personalized hours granted based on family needs; Management of post-maternity returns and flexibility for parenthood; shift changes agreed between colleagues based on personal needs.

For the third category, “Empowerment. Cultural policies in favor of the development of female careers in companies” are in the finals. 1 – Albatros, a small Tuscan leather goods company founded in 2001 by Roberta Ghini’s passion for high craftsmanship, which works for big brands. It has already won the Women Value Company award, assigned by the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, and was awarded the prize by the Chamber of Commerce of Florence for the category of female businesses. In 2022, it joined the New Skills Fund 2, giving employees the opportunity to participate in training courses, particularly in the digital area, and to obtain enabling certificates. This year, the company joined the New Skills Fund 3, with the aim of raising employee awareness of the sustainability of production processes and the use of resources to make employees aware of the fundamental principles of the circular economy, sustainable development, to understand the importance of reducing waste within the production cycle and implementing daily practices aimed at minimizing the environmental impact and personal empowerment. Furthermore, the company has joined projects of the Tuscany Region, subsidized by PNRR funds, (Propell and Experience course) for the inclusion of professional figures in the world of work, carrying out classroom lessons and internships in the company. 2 – Eurojersey. It has launched hiring policies aimed at bridging the gender gap, even in traditionally male departments such as dyeing and finishing, and has started investing in continuous training: in 2024, 40 percent of total training hours were taken up by women. It has also activated individual coaching programs and workshops to overcome gender stereotypes and constantly raise awareness of diversity and inclusion aimed at the entire company population. 3 - Miu Miu, Prada group, for the “Literary club” project which, under the direction of Miuccia Prada, aims to consolidate the brand's dialogue with contemporary culture, exploring the themes of female education also in relation to love, desire and sexual education, bringing the work of twentieth-century novelists and philosophers to the attention of younger generations, from Sibilla Aleramo and Alba De Céspedes to Simone de Beauvoir and Fumiko Enchi, pseudonym of Fumi Ueda, one of the most important authors of the Shöwa era in Japan. Among Miu Miu's other initiatives is Women's Tales, the longest-running platform for short films curated by international female directors.

The Jury is composed of: Erika Andreetta, partner PwC Italia luxury Goods, Fulvia Bacchi, general manager UNIC and CEO of Lineapelle, Rosalba Benedetto, vice president of Banca IFIS, Simona Olga Binetti, president of the School of Sciences, University of Milan-Bicocca, Carlo Capasa, president of the National Chamber of Fashion, Giovanna Ceolini, president of Confindustria Fashion Accessories, Roberta Cocco, senior advisor of Clessidra Private Equity, Maurizio Dallocchio, full professor of finance, Bocconi University, Gianfranco Di Natale, general manager of Confindustria Moda, Antonio Franceschini, National Manager of CNA Federmoda, Fabiana Giacomotti, costume historian, curator of “Il Foglio della moda”, Stefania Lazzaroni, general manager of Altagamma, Gianbattista La Rocca, CEO of NTVspa, Elvira Marasco, founder of the Italian Delegation W20, Elena Salvaneschi, CEO of TheOne Milano, Claudia Sequi, president of Mipel and Assopellettieri, Roberto Tadini, president of AIP, Sergio Tamborini, president of Confindustria Moda and CEO of Ratti.

Love on Silk. Emma Talbot. “Unbroken Bond”, 2023. Acrylic on silk © and courtesy of Emma Talbot. For “Il Foglio della moda”, May 2025. “A mother and child in a sort of protective space, similar to a womb, joined by an umbilical cord and a placenta. Each birth creates a completely new world, an unbroken bond, a beginning, in the chaos outside, a link in a chain, a connection between infinity and temporality, you and me. The painting is not only about the tenderness between mother and child, but also about the fact that each of us is born, and the incredible, incomprehensible scale of the universe in comparison to each individual being” . Thanks to Max Mara Art Prize and Collezione Maramotti for their kind intercession. Talbot's works are on display until August 31 at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, as part of the exhibition “Time for women!”, which celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the prize with the winning works and its artists, all of whom have enjoyed an artist residency in Italy for a period of six months.

Bull Riders. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter opens the Cowboy Carter Tour in a jumpsuit made for her by Adrian Appiolaza, creative director of Moschino, covered in Swarovski crystals. The trompe l'oeil western motif was achieved with 223,000 red crystals and 34,000 clear ones. The costume took 250 hours to make.

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