Fewer creative women, more STEM degrees

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Awards, group fashion shows with favorable news coverage, and numerous courses (although enrollment is declining, in most cases) are not enough. To improve the female presence in fashion, to ensure women occupy more senior positions in a sector that has always seen them numerically highly represented, but in less qualified positions, we need to work towards a cultural change in families , which is and remains fundamental for all aspects of women's lives (the increase in gender-based violence is also linked to greater freedom of expression, unfortunately, so action is needed at school and at home, and it will take generations and investment), and therefore promote degree programs in STEM fields . More female finance experts, more management engineers, more statistics and computer science experts, and more chemists.

For this reason, Fabio Pietrella , a fashion entrepreneur and member of the Italian parliament for the Brothers of Italy (FdI) involved in all the sector's analytical and institutional discussions, welcomed “Il Foglio della moda” to the Chamber for the second year. For five years, the newspaper has been developing an Observatory (the “barometer” as it is now known within the system) on female careers in the fashion and luxury sector, thanks to PwC Italia, and has independently supported scholarships with Bocconi and Bicocca Universities. The meeting on the topic highlighted once again how, even in the luxury sector, fashion still speaks too much in a masculine way : as the general director of Altagamma , Stefania Lazzaroni , pointed out, “ESG issues and gender equality remain central to the Italian high-end sector, but in the fashion world the complexity is evident: despite representing around sixty percent of the workforce, women are still under-represented at the top.

At the Altagamma Foundation, women make up 27 percent of the board and approximately 30 percent of presidents and CEOs of member companies , figures higher than the national average, but still insufficient. "Today we need to consolidate change with shared parenting policies , gender equality certification, and dedicated diversity committees, key tools for narrowing the gap and valorizing female talent," a crucial point also for Antonella Centra, a lawyer with expertise in ESG practices and formerly at the top of companies like Gucci. That the situation is better among smaller companies , the famous supply chain currently at the center of long-awaited measures in terms of certification and legality, is a fact that reflects the "small" companies' concern for the local area : "It is not the norm to work illegally," said the new president of CNA Federmoda national, Doriana Marini : "We need shared tools and substantial checks, not certifications out of principle. Only a fair balance of margins between brands and suppliers can guarantee a healthy and competitive system,” which also means different economic recognition, the basis for any positive evolution, even in gender: less formal logic, more “supply chain agreements based on economic sustainability.”

For this reason, according to Marini, "female entrepreneurship in fashion is not a gender issue, but an industrial policy choice." Inclusion requires "policies that support parenthood and enhance female human capital as strategic levers." For the future of the industry, pursuing a career means not having to choose part-time work because the area lacks accommodation and educational facilities for children, but also not having to rely on the company's internal projects and investments. Luisa Spagnoli's story is beautiful, and Moncler extending paternity leave more than any other Italian fashion company (and beyond) is a textbook case study, but perhaps it's time the government understood where and how a country lays the solid foundations for growth .

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