The primates of women in the world of work: who is the first woman who…?

It would be very nice to try to re-semantize, to change the meaning of the expression prima donna. In the professional field, for example, it could indicate precisely women who were the first to carry out a specific profession, producing a significant cultural and symbolic effect. Unfortunately, the uproar caused by the appointments of women in prestigious roles is not a good sign. “In Italy, when a woman is appointed to the top of important bodies and organizations, including institutional ones, it makes a sensation because the democratic deficit unfortunately it continues to persist in our country. So these appointments become exceptions, they almost seem an anomaly when instead they are of a blatant normality “he comments bitterly Valeria Headlights, president of Archdonna.

There is more, as Michela Murgia often notes on her Instagram profile (and not only), we add the media that tend not to mention the name of the woman in question in the headlines. It happened with Antonella Polimeni, for example, but also with Kamala Harris. It seems trivial, but the effect is to throw the gender before the person and, in the second analysis, before the abilities that led him to that goal.

These first women with hits of success and talent scratch that marble phenomenon that is the gender gap, that is, the gap that at different levels separates men and women in the professional world. A qualitative and quantitative gap: it affects the number of women in important roles but also – to mention just two elements – their salaries. And as much as you think it is dusty speeches, in reality there is still a lot to do. According to Gender Gap Report 2020, a survey promoted by various organizations including the Italian Libellula Foundation, “female workers earn on average 11% less of male colleagues, and still continue to stay away from the positions of summit, where the female presence is barely del 32%, improved by just 5 percentage points in 10 years. Italy today is al 76th place out of 149 countries in the world for the ability to bridging gender gaps, and al 17th place out of 20 countries of Western Europe ”report from the foundation.

“In governance women continue to be quite a minority: it is a problem and we have been fighting it in Arcidonna since 2000. When in democratic societies the representation of one of the two subjects fails, there is an overall weakening of democracy itself and this is what Italy is paying bitterly »Continues Ajovalasit.

The problem – as often happens – is purely cultural. In Italy, what is defined by many as the introjected patriarchy, a form of unconscious cognitive deformation matured over the centuries in which men were the only actors in the public sphere, therefore also in the working one. How to remedy this? «The fact that in Italy a subject capable of sensitizing young people on equal opportunities and therefore of activating a true participatory democracy has not yet been included in the school says a lot. Education is the fundamental pillar of a democratic society ».

And what is often perplexing is that sometimes it is women themselves who do not support actions and battles that protect their rights. Recently, for example, we talked to you about professional women, including architects, engineers and lawyers; words that exist in the vocabulary and that do not represent forcing of any kind from a linguistic point of view, but which are nevertheless strongly rejected by many professionals. Why? “The patriarchal culture that has prevailed in Italy for centuries has had consequences for both men and women. A series of stereotypes has been absorbed on both sides; when feminism emerged with great force, some women were opposed to the movement. Perhaps not all of them had the tools to exercise that fundamental freedom that allows you to understand that this is the way “.

A similar reaction occurs against the notes pink share. “I am not surprised that women themselves are the first to fight against women’s quotas. I don’t like this name: I call them positive action as happens in a civilized way in Europe. Indeed, there is a need for positive action to eliminate the gender gap; a gap that is first of all democratic, and which in fact becomes structural and also produces a culture that goes against women ”.

For years we have also had to put up with another preconception. The one according to which they exist you work as women and you work as men. An idiocy that today is crumbling: there are excellent obstetricians and nurses, just as there are capable referees and women woodcutters who make people talk about themselves. “There are no jobs that cannot be done by women, but there are jobs that women generally love more. The professions have opened up to the female component also thanks to technology. Think of agriculture, where before it was all physical effort; now the machines do most of the work. Technology has brought society forward in this sense ». But to help reduce the gap, awareness-raising initiatives such as the one underlying the oil project are still needed Oily which saw the collaboration between Arcidonna and the Palermo woman Award-winning Oleifici Barbera (where 60% of the workforce is represented by women) with the aim of promoting women’s freedom and equal opportunities.

In gallery find ten women who in as many professions and roles have marked a record by leading the way for other colleagues.

(In the photo Chiara Giamundo, © Marina Militare).