On the Media Board of UN Women Italy also Il Sole 24 Ore

In Italy, 65% of the inactive are women, with more than a third of them excluded from the labour market for family reasons. The female employment rate tells us that less than six out of ten women work, compared to over 70% of the European average. And when women do work, they earn 12% less than men for the same role and tasks, and they find it harder to advance their careers, so much so that among managers there are about one in every four. A gender gap that widens to 33.2% at retirement. In the family, 75% of unpaid care work is still performed by women and it is they who most often leave their jobs or accept involuntary part-time work to care for their children. Moreover, eight out of ten single-parent families are made up of mothers and children, and they are also those most at risk of poverty and social exclusion. In this context, there is the now structural phenomenon of gender violence: 31.6 per cent of women have suffered physical or sexual violence and there is a feminicide every two days in our country. The phenomenon also affects young people: according to a survey by the Ministry of the Interior, 66% of girls are subjected to pressure on how to dress and over 30% of young women report toxic relationships. In the workplace, complaints of harassment have risen by 81% in the last two years. In the face of these figures, Italy has dropped 18 places in the World Economic Forum's ranking on gender equality, placing 87th in the Gender Gap Report 2024.

These numbers are enough to motivate the decision of UN Women - the United Nations body for gender equality and women's empowerment - to officially launch the UN Women Italy National Committee during the G7 ministerial meeting in Matera in October 2024. UN Women Italy, part of a global network of 13 National Committees, non-profit, independent, secular and non-partisan non-governmental organisations, promotes women's rights through a profound cultural change, an essential condition for overcoming inequalities and building a more equitable and sustainable society. It works through strategic partnerships with institutions, governments, companies and associations.

"UN Women Italy is committed on four fronts. Work, first of all. If only one woman in two works in Italy, we must understand why and make proposals to the institutions to introduce reforms to support employment, especially in the South. Second, youth and young people: we must make them protagonists here in Italy, offering them innovative opportunities to stop the brain drain. Third theme, gender violence. One in three women suffers some form of violence in the course of their lives in Italy. We must focus our efforts on prevention and education to bring about a radical cultural change. The fourth front concerns the involvement of men in favour of equality and in this sense we have inaugurated the Italian chapter of "He4She"," explains Darya Majidi, president of UN Women Italy.

After the Scientific Committee, the Media Board was set up, a working group of female information professionals joining forces to promote a more equitable, inclusive and aware narrative on women's and gender issues. Its members are Monica D'Ascenzo, expert journalist and Diversity & Inclusion Editor of Il Sole 24 Ore and Head of Alley Oop; Mariangela Pira journalist of Sky Tg24; Danda Santini director of Io Donna-Corriere della Sera; Lorenza Ghidini director of Radio Popolare; Maria Latella writer and journalist of Il Sole 24 Ore and face of Rai; Diletta Parlangeli journalist and voice of Rai Radio 2.

"The Media Board," reads the UN Women Italy communiqué, "is the result of a careful selection, shared with UN Women in New York, among figures from the world of information who have distinguished themselves for their commitment to women's empowerment and the promotion of gender equality. It has a clear mission: to strengthen UN Women Italy's communication strategy through discussion, reflection, and collaboration with those who report on reality every day'. The members of the board will play an active role on several fronts: creating public debate, identifying emerging themes and new perspectives on gender issues, making them central to the media narrative; defining guidelines for effective and respectful communication, promoting inclusive journalistic practices; countering stereotypes and discriminatory language, contributing to the construction of a new collective imagination.