Ten years of Alley Oop: the power of alliances for rights and inclusion

Building a network between institutions, businesses, universities and civil society to transform inclusion into a concrete lever for development. This is the goal with which Alley Oop, the Il Sole 24 Ore blog dedicated to the themes of rights and diversity, was born ten years ago and celebrated its first ten years with an institutional meeting at the Chamber of Deputies, in the Sala della Regina. The initiative, entitled 'Women, rights and alliances for an inclusive country', brought together representatives from the academic, institutional, cultural and business worlds to reflect on the role of equal opportunities in the Italian economy and society.

Alley Oop, born ten years ago on the initiative of journalist Monica D'Ascenzo, assisted in the editorial coordination by Chiara Di Cristofaro and Manuela Perrone, over time has established itself as a space for analysis and discussion on the issues of women's participation in work, leadership, welfare and the fight against gender violence. The afternoon session was opened by the speech of the Minister for Natality, Family and Equal Opportunities Eugenia Roccella. "On the day of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the vote for women, I want to recall the many achievements, starting with the fact that we have the first woman prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. But today we still have to fight," the minister added. "We think of the fight against violence against women, of stereotypes and of the many situations in which equal opportunities are still only on paper and clash against a world of work, economic and social, that is still too male-dominated".

Roccella took the opportunity to appeal for cross-party unity. The opposition MPs present replied that they were ready to work together, starting with the proposals on equal parental spouses, double surnames and consent. Speakers included the Vice-President of the Senate Anna Rossomando (Pd), MPs Elena Bonetti (Azione), Maria Elena Boschi (Italia Viva), Maria Cecilia Guerra (Pd) and Dem Senator Valeria Valente. While the Honourable Cristina Rossello (Forza Italia) from the majority stressed the importance of working for greater participation of women in the labour market for a more competitive country.

The red thread that united round tables and Alley talks was that of rights and it could only begin with the baton passed on to the new generations by those who fought to win them before them. Here were the powerful voices of Anna Maria Tarantola, vice-president of the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation and former deputy director of the Bank of Italy and RAI president; Amalia Ercoli Finzi, the first graduate in aeronautical engineering in Italia in 1962 and today honorary professor at the Milan Polytechnic; and Rosa Oliva de Concilis, jurist and honorary president of the Network for Equality. A common call: never take achievements for granted.

A special focus was then devoted to countering violence against women. The speakers were the judge of the Court of Cassation Paola Di Nicola Travaglini and the president of the Court of Milan Fabio Roia, who have been committed to ridding the courts of prejudice for years. The first? The one according to which women lie, belied by all the data. Cristina Carelli, president of the D.i.Re network of anti-violence centres, recounted the reality of those who seek help: 'We have realised in recent years that women have changed. Today many young people come to the anti-violence centres: it means that awareness has grown'.