Women make up 17% of executives and 6% of CEOs. It is worse in listed companies

Looking at the production sectors, the gap is equally wide, including the banking and insurance sector, where female executives make up 17 per cent. They do slightly better in trade and services, where female executives are 18 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

Half of the executives (male and female) have a degree in economics and management. Only 17% of women (compared to 39% of male colleagues) have a degree in Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering or mathematics). This gap is a further disadvantage for women, given the demands of the labour market. This was also emphasised recently in Mario Draghi's report on the future of European competitiveness, which states that although the number of graduates in Stem subjects in Europe is increasing, the pace is not sufficient to keep up with the growth in demand for jobs in science and technology, "and strong gender disparities are evident: men are almost twice as likely to have a degree as women".

An Mba reduces the average time to become an executive by about a year and a half, for both men and women.

Work experience abroad also rewards: women enter an executive role on average after 12 years and 11 months of work experience, compared to 12 years and 3 months for men. Having work experience abroad accelerates career advancement: each year of work experience abroad saves about one and a half months for women (and three weeks for men).

As far as the gender gap is concerned, the data on the distribution of executives by age group bodes well. In the sample analysed by the Sda Bocconi- Eric Salmon survey, female executives represent only 10% among baby boomers, while they rise to 25% in the cohort of those born since 1981 (the Millennials).

According to Alessandro Minichilli, co-author of the research and director of Sda Bocconi's Corporate Governance Lab, "the projections highlight the need for companies to take concrete measures to accelerate the development paths of female executives, by fostering mobility between functional areas and promoting international experiences".

Among the female executives present at the conference presenting the survey were Cristina Bombassei, President of Aidaf (Italian Association of Family Businesses) and board member of Brembo, Paola Calderini, managing director of Eric Salmon&Partners, Mirja Cartia d'Asero, managing director of Gruppo 24 Ore and Claudia Parzani, President of Borsa Italiana.

"Brembo," explains board member and chief sustainability officer Cristina Bombassei, "has developed a strategic plan for gender equality with policies of pay equity and work flexibility and ambitious goals, including that of improving female representation in management, which, considering both the structural characteristics of the automotive sector and the presence of women in engineering faculties, is a challenge for the coming years.

For 24 Ore Group administrator Mirja Cartia d'Asero, 'it is good that there is a greater awareness of gender equality among young people. Moreover,' she added, 'the top management of companies will need new and different skills in the future from those that exist today'.