{"id":1082,"date":"2026-05-07T09:23:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T09:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.regg3.com\/?p=1082"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T09:36:48","slug":"gender-equality-the-human-capital-italy-is-leaving-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.regg3.com\/en\/2026\/05\/07\/gender-equality-the-human-capital-italy-is-leaving-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"Gender equality: the human capital Italy is leaving behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 29 April 2026, fifty-six people gathered at the C.I.R.M.<\/strong> (Consorzio Italiano per la Ricerca in Medicina) event to discuss a set of figures that are hard to ignore: women study more, graduate more, and achieve better academic results than men. Yet they continue to have lower employment rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The problem is not education,” Jenny Salazar said in her presentation. “It’s what happens after.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Regg3, the event organised in partnership with C.I.R.M. was the first of six appointments as part of our commitment to the Alleanza per l’Aria e il Clima of the Comune di Milano. A series we will dedicate in 2026 to topics that may, at first glance, seem distant from environmental sustainability. Only at first glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Italy ranked 87th<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We opened with a look at the international context: Italy ranks 87th out of 146 countries<\/strong> in the WEF Global Gender Gap Index 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economic figures speak even more clearly. Achieving occupational parity would add $12 trillion<\/strong> to global GDP, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. At the current pace, it will take 131 years<\/strong> to close the global gender gap. For Italy, the Banca d’Italia and the OECD estimate an annual loss of \u20ac160 billion<\/strong> tied to female underemployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The education paradox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Italy, 94.9% of women<\/strong> access upper secondary school, compared to 90.9% of men<\/strong>. 88.1%<\/strong> complete it, against 79.6%<\/strong> of men. More female students, more female graduates, better results across the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet in the labour market, the female employment rate in Italy is 84.4%<\/strong>, against 89.1%<\/strong> for men. In Lombardy the gap narrows, but does not disappear: 92.4% versus 95%<\/strong>. In Milan, 11,126 women<\/strong> remain below the employment threshold considered acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we get out of this paradox? Not through goodwill. Through a system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture is learned. And it can be unlearned<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matteo Rossi Renier, forensic legal psychologist, led an experiential workshop on a concept that sounds simple but requires genuine internalisation: no one is born with gender prejudices. It is educational culture that leads us to associate certain roles or professions with one gender rather than another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This distinction is decisive: what has been learned can be re-examined, questioned, changed. Prejudice is not a biological given, it is a cultural product. And as such, it is addressed through training, awareness and operational tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A concrete example was brought by Flavia Franconi, national coordinator of the Laboratory of Gender Medicine and Pharmacology: research into medical devices that account for biological gender differences, from needles to diagnostic instruments, is still largely behind. Some companies are already investing in this direction, opening new production lines. Many others have not yet considered it. Gender medicine is not an optional addition to research: it is a prerequisite for effective healthcare and for a market that truly functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From awareness to measurement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Giacomo Sassun outlined the opportunities linked to gender equality certification under the UNI PdR 125<\/strong> standard: over 1,200 companies have already obtained it in Italy, with documented effects on turnover, talent attraction, ESG ratings and access to PNRR and EIB credit. Regione Lombardia has activated specific support tools for organisations undertaking this path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where gender culture stops being a “soft” topic and becomes a measurable variable in an organisation’s management system. Jenny Salazar showed how gender is a cross-cutting dimension across Regg3’s twelve impact areas, certified by RINA<\/strong> and subject to academic peer review, with a specific focus on Employment and Education, the two areas analysed in this first session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle that drives Regg3’s work applies here too: without measurement, there is no impact. Recognising the problem is a starting point, not a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The training programme<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In closing, C.I.R.M. presented the training programme “Accogliere, riconoscere, agire: la prospettiva di genere nelle scienze della vita”, 32 hours combining theoretical foundations, expert sector interventions, practical workshops and distance-based consolidation, with ECM accreditation expected. The course can be financed through regional and national continuing education funding instruments, as First Consulting outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme covers the psycho-educational area, the legal and regulatory area, including anti-violence legislation and the UNI PdR 125 standard, and the strategic-operational area, with performance indicators and organisational risk management. Not a sensitivity course. A structured path to turn awareness into competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next appointment in the series is scheduled for the coming weeks. Topics will change, the direction stays the same: build awareness, measure, change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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