(Finance) – “Dear representatives of Business7it’s a It’s an honor for me to open a session dedicated to enhancing the talent of women and young peopleso central to the construction of our future, in front of an audience of representatives of the business world”. These are the words with which the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Maria Eugenia Roccella, ha B7 side event openedentitled “Bridging Gaps and Building Futures: Women, Youth and Talent for Inclusive Growth”, in the context of the G7 equal opportunities, underway in Matera.
“I believe that never as in this case the word ‘engagement‘, with which the civil society groups that feed into the G7 debates identify themselves, is appropriate. The challenge of equal opportunities, of women’s participation in the labor market, and the related challenges of empowerment and the fight against the birth rate must in fact make us all feel ‘engaged’. They concern the freedom and fulfillment of each person, they concern the characteristics and destiny of our societies.
Therefore, there cannot be effective public policies in this field that do not pass through the awareness and involvement of the productive world, just as it is difficult for the initiatives of the productive world to develop if not accompanied by an adequate regulatory and cultural context“, continues the Minister, underlining that engagement is therefore an alliance, to which we are all called.
“The G7 of Equal Opportunities Ministers, which will be held tomorrow in Matera, brings together two themes: thefemale empowerment and the fight against violence against women. I would like to underline the connection here because in addition to being a tool for achievement and independence, the participation of women in the world of work and business is also a powerful contrast to abuse, to the many forms of violence which are not always manifest perpetrated every day against women. It is no coincidence that, alongside the immediate support tools put in place for women victims of violence in conditions of need, we also strongly believe in measures aimed at promoting the initiatives and ideas of women who want to start and build something themselves , to become economically independent and escape situations of blackmail and abuse.
“Overcoming the many gaps that still persist is not only good for women: it is good for everyone, because it is a factor of justice and freedom, a factor of growth and development, a contribution of care and competence. It is good because a company that promotes female participation is more competitive. It’s good because only making women free to fulfill themselves in family life and in the profession in the way they wish, without the two options being perceived as alternatives, we can hope to find a key to the demographic crisis that now affects large areas of the world and on which the future of our societies depends.
“Here we are assumed our responsibilitiesstrongly orienting our choices, in a truly difficult phase for public finances, towards encouraging the work of women and young people, with important results especially on the employment front, including for women. We have invested a lot in conciliation, with the strengthening of parental leave, essentially free nursery schools for the second child, company welfare through fringe benefits, the financing of summer centers and the summer opening of schools. And also I can relate to you flattering data on the certification of gender equality, with around five thousand companies certified to date, i.e. five times as much as what the Pnrr asked for by 2026. Alongside the certification we have promoted a self-discipline code for companies in favor of maternity, a voluntary compliance tool designed specifically to stimulate awareness. A multi-level action, therefore, through which politics assumes its own responsibilities and solicits those of others.
“The G7 will be a important moment of comparison for the definition of shared strategies against violence and in support of empowerment. A more just society also depends on the freedom and valorisation of half the world, because half the world is women and with a half-world there can be neither well-being nor development. I thank you and wish you good work”, concludes the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Maria Eugenia Roccella.