The first of three meetings with the Intesa Sanpaolo new concept branch in Via Verdi 7 takes place today, May 8, the 110 finalist companies of the «Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo» award. Strongly desired and implemented by the Banking Group together with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, the award, for the second consecutive year, is reserved for small and medium-sized enterprises that stand out in enhancement of female work and in the management of gender diversity, implementing policies and strategies aimed at guaranteeing equal opportunities and career recognition. The goal is to involve the business world in a process of female empowerment, giving visibility to the most virtuous and innovative practices.
During the self-candidacy phase, which closed on 9 February, the stories of 460 companies, of which 40% classified as "excellent SMEs". 110 those who have passed the selection, by virtue of the requisites required by the notice, distributed evenly throughout the country. While waiting to know the names of the two companies – one small and one medium-sized – which will be proclaimed winners on 15 June in Rome, during the XXX edition of the Marisa Bellisario «Women at high altitude» Award, all the finalists will be involved in three events, in Milan, Rome (May 14, in the Intesa Sanpaolo branch in via del Corso) and Vicenza (June 4, in the Intesa Sanpaolo branch in Corso Palladio), organized by the Bellisario Foundation and Intesa Sanpaolo, and will receive an acknowledgment certifying their peculiar ability to "sow talents", valuing female merit and ability.
Female activity rate and women's businesses
The evidence that emerged from a study by the Intesa Sanpaolo Studies and Research Department has highlighted the importance of placing women at the center of the growth strategies of Italian entrepreneurship, also considering the enormous potential that is still untapped: the female activity rate in Italy is among the lowest in Europe, 55,9% in 2017 out of the total number of women aged between 15 and 64 (only Macedonia with 51,7% and Turkey with 37,5% do worse than us). However, continuous improvements are noted, with a growth of 4,8 percentage points compared to 2010, with the female activity rate reaching 80,8% for women with higher educational levels.
Women's businesses are also growing: according to Unioncamere data, in 2017 there were over 1.331.000 women's businesses - 10.000 more than the previous year, almost 30.000 more than in 2014 - with a constant increase that leads to 21,86% share of total firms. In particular, it should be emphasized that more structured businesses are growing: joint-stock companies run by women, in fact, increased by almost 17% in 2017, reaching over 21% of women's businesses (about 284.000). The youth contribution also stands out: there are over 170.000 enterprises led by under 35s, which account for an average of 12,78% of the total of women's enterprises and 28,7% of the total of youth enterprises, to underline the strong interest of the new generations of women towards the valorisation of their work. The most consistent growth of female enterprises is concentrated in four regions: Sicily, Lazio, Campania and Lombardy (+8.000 businesses in 2017 in these territories, compared to 2016). As far as the sectors of activity are concerned, if almost half of the overall balance is due to the increase in female enterprises active in the tourism sector and in that of other service activities (e.g. personal services), in percentage terms there is the greatest increase compared to 2016 in professional, scientific and technical activities (+3,8%).
The Intesa Sanpaolo Group for gender equality
In addition to the consolidated collaboration with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group has implemented numerous initiatives that promote gender equality.
For its own people, an integrated welfare system that has evolved over the years, building a wide range of tools and services - such as a time bank, company crèches, broader maternity/paternity leave, smart working, flexible hours incoming and outgoing, part-time – which concretely address the issue of inclusion, time management and, more generally, the balance between company and personal needs of employees. In Intesa Sanpaolo, women represent 54% of the entire corporate population, 40% of total executives and middle managers, 25% of executives. Thanks to the policies adopted on the subject of gender equality, Intesa Sanpaolo is the only Italian company included in the 2018 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index” (GEI), which evaluates the commitment and actions on gender equality of the main globally listed companies, and is 64th in the Equileap - Gender Equality Global Ranking, ranking of the Top 200 companies by gender equality, compiled by analyzing over 3.000 listed companies from 23 countries.
For women who work or run a business, it has introduced ad hoc loans, such as Business Gemma, which benefits from the Guarantee Fund for SMEs and the suspension of the principal amount of installments for up to one year; specific training programs to support business management and development, with courses developed on topics such as digitization and internationalization and Tech-Marketplace, the digital platform that brings together supply and demand for technology, both developed as part of the agreement with Confindustria; opportunities for discussion, for example with the WorkHer platform, with its mentorship, networking and training projects. To be close to companies intent on increasing the personal and family well-being of their workers, Intesa Sanpaolo also provides Welfare hub, the service with which companies allow their employees to access a digital, multimedia and multi-channel platform (browsable from PC , tablets and smartphones), where there are goods and services with which to spend
their own “welfare credit”, choosing between goods and services present in the areas of greatest interest to them: home and family, health and well-being, savings and free time.
Lella Golfo, President of the Marisa Bellisario Foundation: «We are proud to continue with Intesa Sanpaolo the path that began last year with the Women Value Company Award. The first edition proved to be a real success, not only for the great participation but for the excellence of the candidate companies. We are sure that this year too we will discover companies that know how to combine the success of the markets with the creation of an innovative welfare system to support all the obstacles that women encounter in their careers. We have always believed that women and small and medium-sized Italian enterprises represent the real challenge and resource for growth and change. And in Intesa Sanpaolo we have found an attentive and far-sighted interlocutor, with a modern vision of problems but also of women's potential. Together, we will continue to invest energy and resources to give space and visibility to those SMEs that focus on women and innovation, producing wealth and progress for the country."
Stefano Barrese, head of the Intesa Sanpaolo Banca dei Territori Division, mentor of the initiative: «With the second edition of the award, which seals the full harmony of intentions and the collaboration of Intesa Sanpaolo with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, we want to continue to spread a conviction very clear: excellence and talent have no gender. As the largest employer in Italy, we have always invested and committed ourselves to guaranteeing, within our Group, equal assessment of skills and compensation, and growth opportunities based on merit. As the country's reference bank, we support work and entrepreneurship in all its forms, with the ambition of spreading our business model, based above all on attention to people, to an ever-increasing number of companies , in the awareness that differences are not a problem, but rather a value on which to give space and on which to build one's identity.»
The “Women Value Company 2018 – Intesa Sanpaolo” award
The "Women Value Company 2018 - Intesa Sanpaolo" award is aimed at small and medium-sized public and private enterprises (according to the criteria of the European Commission Recommendation 2003 361/EC), with mainly Italian capital and not belonging to groups, which have recorded good economic-financial performance and who have distinguished themselves in the application of policies for the enhancement of female work and the management of gender diversity: family/work conciliation services; initiatives aimed at guaranteeing employees, men and women, a serene management of their time in the company (benefits, vouchers, internal crèches,…); flexible work organization policies; non-discriminatory merit pay policies; plans for the development and enhancement of female skills and careers, with a large presence of women in managerial or top positions.
