smallready to return WomenX Impact, the largest Italian event for female entrepreneurship. From working in digital marketing through diversity, inclusion, the gender gap and financial education, there will be plenty of topics to cover. We interviewed Eleonora Rokaits founder and CEO, to tell us the news of this edition
Countdown to its third edition WomenX Impact Summit 2023the annual event where the eponymous community – currently numbering over 20,000 people – meets to connect women from around the world and create career opportunities.
The dates to mark in the calendar are November 23, 24 and 25 for a date that will take place both live and on FICO Eataly World in Bologna, both online, to reach – and inspire – as many people as possible. The focus will be, as always, on innovation, leadership and empowerment. The goal is to personal and professional development of women through testimonials and case studies that will provide interesting insights to the entire audience: in a single three-day event, the best representatives of a global network of ambitious women, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals determined to shape the future will be present.
Many hot topics will be covered during the three days, from employment to digital marketing through diversity, inclusion, the gender gap, financial education, mental health and sustainability. Monitoring will be possible in all four rooms at the same time more than 100 keynote speeches where featured names who currently work in companies of this caliber Eni, Cisco, Mediobanca, Google Cloud, Indeed and Amazon Web Services, will share stories, experiences and perspectives, providing attendees with valuable inspiration and wisdom. We will be there too The womanwith his intervention Purple SugarHead of Social Media Content at Mondadori Media.
A perfect opportunity to get to know the success and failure stories of professionals who currently hold top positions in large companies.
We asked Eleonora RokaFounder & CEO of WomenX Impact, what to expect from this third edition, a little evaluation of the previous ones and an opinion on how much (much) more we have to do and how to do it.
Eleonora, WomenX Impact today, in addition to an international event that includes professionals from all over the world, is also a large community of people who wish to develop personally and professionally. What differences did you notice between when you left and now?
The WomenX Impact Summit, held for the first time amid the pandemic in 2021, was a small two-day event with two conference rooms. Today there are more than 160 speakers from all over the world and over 1,500 participants with talks, workshops and panels in 4 rooms simultaneously. The WomenX Impact community, which initially had a small number of participants, today welcomes more than 20,000 people who believe in the values of women’s empowerment and leadership and who are committed every day to building a more just and inclusive world in which every person in general and every woman in particular can feel 100% valued without fear of prejudice and/or discrimination.
Therefore, from 2021 to date, WomenX Impact has taken huge steps forward with the number one goal of inspiring, supporting and connecting people, especially women, through a series of international initiatives, demonstrating a ongoing commitment to promoting gender equality and the personal and professional development of anyone who wants to be a part of it.
A few weeks ago in Iceland, women across the country crossed their arms to protest the gender gap and gender violence. In Italy we are far from the goals set by the EU. What do you think are the main problems in our country?
In Italy there is still a long way to go for equal rights between men and women and, in my opinion, yes, we are far from the goals set by the European Union. This is partly due to several issues, such as the economic gender gap, gender balance in decision-making and gender-based violence.
Regarding the first, in Italy, unfortunately, a significant gender gap remains in terms of labor market access and pay: women are often underrepresented in leadership positions and earn much less than men for the same roles. In fact, in the Global Gender Gap report for 2023, our country is in 79th place out of a total of 146 countries.
When it comes to gender balance in decision-making positions, both in the public and private sectors, there is much to be said: unfortunately there is still a marked under-representation of women on boards and in other positions of power. According to the Consob Report, there are still few women at the top, in 2% of cases they are CEOs and in 4% they are presidents.
Last but not least, gender-based violence remains a serious and widespread problem in Italy, with high rates of domestic violence and gender-based discrimination. According to data from the Ministry of Interior’s weekly report, 205 murders were recorded on August 13, with 74 female victims, of which 59 were killed in a family/emotional context.
There has been a lot of debate lately about semantics: there are those who say that to combat the gender gap, especially at work, it is necessary to adjust the terms we use (lawyer, barrister, architect, female architect) and who on the contrary they consider it a losing battle, which is of little use to the cause. What do you think;
Choosing to adapt the semantics can be seen as a way to break once and for all with traditional conventions. However, it is important to understand that real gender equality requires concrete actions, such as company policies that promote dialogue and the complete elimination of pay gaps. The semantics certainly represents a symbolic step, but it is important that it is accompanied by more substantive measures to obtain meaningful and tangible results in the different contexts in which women find themselves operating.
What are the main biases women face in the world of work and what do you think are the strategies to combat and eliminate them?
In the world of work, women face a number of prejudices that hinder their professional development. Some common misconceptions, for example, include the idea that women are less suited for leadership positions or that they are less skilled and prepared in more technical fields.
Cultures
Gender Equality Index: women’s lives in Europe are improving, but full equality is needed
To overcome these barriers, it is necessary to promote awareness and training activities within organizations, adopt diversity and inclusion policies in every sector, and support women’s leadership and career development. Finally, of course, it is important to ensure that evaluations and promotions are based on objective criteria and not on gender stereotypes.
Is there a current female business and leadership role model to look to as a “beacon” and role model, in your opinion? And a person who embodies it?
I am definitely thinking of Sheryl Sandberg, American entrepreneur and official, former chief operating officer of Meta, an important point of reference in the world of technology and a symbol of female empowerment.
In her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sandberg argues that it is important to provide women with all the necessary tools to express their maximum potential in their lives and careers through, for example, guiding activities. For this reason, and more, I decided to start the WomenX Impact Mentoring program, to provide 360° support to women and anyone who needs it. Moreover, his motto “Done is better than perfect” is what guides my choices and my career because to be successful you have to take risks, take a leap, make mistakes, fail and get back up. Waiting for the right time to change jobs, start a project and give shape to your dreams is never the answer: there will never be a right time to start something. The right time is now.
Here to buy the event ticket and discover the program. For his entire community The woman you can take advantage of the discount by entering this code at checkout: THEWOM15