Although mentoring is an increasingly-used tool for career development within companies, only a small portion of the working population has access to it. PWA has moved to fill this gap by pioneering “network mentoring” in Italy, a concept which has been implemented effectively by several of its European affiliates.

The application period for the first edition of the PWA Mentoring Program has recently closed, the results are in, and matches have been made. Close to 50 women have come forward as potential mentors or mentees, greatly exceeding expectations based on results attained in other countries across Europe.

What sets Italy apart? Not surprisingly, the demand for mentors isn’t just originating from women in corporations. As more and more women leave the corporate world to embark into entrepreneurship, aspiring business owners are looking for mentorship too.

Join Valerie Ryder and Monique Svazlian, the driving forces behind mentoring at PWA, for an evening of “Women Leading Women.” After a brief presentation of the program and an initial analysis of the mentoring needs expressed, a selection of PWA Mentors will share their inspirational stories and past experiences with mentoring. We will hear from the following top corporate executives and successful business owners:

• Isabella Chiodi, Vice President and member of the Italian Women Leadership Council, IBM
• Barbara Cominelli, Planning Director, Tenaris Dalmine
  
• Giovanna D’Alessio, Managing Director, LifeCoachLab and President of the International Coach Federation
• Francesca Patellani, Client Partner (Banking Clients) and Inclusion & Diversity Lead, Accenture
• Lee Smith, Director, InStoreFactor
• Nicoletta Zappatini, Managing Director, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank

About Valerie Ryder and Monique Svazlian: Executive Coaches, Valerie and Monique are passionate about developing leaders both in the corporate world and in entrepreneurship. They share the common conviction that the most effective way for women to advance professionally is to take advantage of mentoring, coaching, networking and other leadership development resources. Read more about them at www.ryderassociates.com and www.highestpath.com

Read more about the PWA Mentoring Program here

Grand Hotel et de Milan
Via Manzoni, 29 (MM Montenapoleone)
Networking Cocktail: 7 – 8 pm
Presentation 8 – 9:30 pm

Entrance free for members, 20 euro for guests, payable in cash at the event.
Members, please register in the calendar section of EPWN.
Guests, please send an email to speakers@pwa-milan.org

All professional women welcome whether members or guests

Join us  Monday, April 26 for PWA’s first “Ready-for-board Women” event of 2010, hosted and co-sponsored by Università Bocconi.

At our November event, we presented the result of our project: our list of 72 women with the profiles and competencies necessary to contribute effectively as board members. Our guest panel of male decision-makers then shared their views on why so few women sit on Italian boards of directors.

This time we’re turning the floor over to the women: come hear from several of these 72 women who are joining us to discuss their experiences and what strategies are required to effect change

Participation is free, registration is required (register here). Men are welcome at this event.

Monday 26 April 5.30-7.30 p.m.

Location: Aula Magna, Università Bocconi Via Gobbi 5, Milan

The event will be held in Italian.

To download the program, please go to www.sdabocconi.it/ready_for_board_women; to register, click here

The Next Women - the first online Women’s Business Magazine, with a focus on startups and growing businesses, led, founded or invested in by women – presents the “far from exhaustive” 49 most notable female internet heroes of 2009.

“2009 has endured the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and yet female start-ups are growing in numbers as more of our lives are spent online. We have compiled our list of notable 2009 Female Internet Hero achievements.”

If you want to know who is on the list click here.

By Hema Mali

The legal profession is probably one of those sectors that let’s say isn’t the easiest to make headway for the gentle sex.  There are diverse practice areas, and many women do enter the profession, however what happens next is a little disturbing and deserves some attention. 

Let’s take a look at the statistics in the US regarding women in the legal field (naturally take into account a considerable reduction when comparing it to Italy).  42% women leave the profession mid-career, 16% women are equity partners however our honourable corporate sponsor, Latham & Watkins boasts 17% of women equity partners (in the US).

This has been possible due to several initiatives launched by the firm like WEB, or Women Enriching Business which promotes women in business by creating broader networks and mentoring amongst other activities and the PRO RATA program giving associates returning from parental leave an option to work a reduced pace without seeking prior approval, which incidentally was recognised by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers as a “2009 Best Law Firm for Women.”  (What it fails to mention is whether the same women can continue up the corporate ladder.)

Fantastic, however, one of my greatest perplexities before visiting Latham in Milan to interview PWA corporate sponsor was whether the facts were a phenomenon to the US or whether it was also reflected in Italy.  In Italy, there are 13 female lawyers out of a pool of 40.  On the other hand, there is only one female partner out of 9. Ok, so some discrepancies but always room for improvement. Next, did the firm make the generous provisions that the American counterpart boasted?

The first impression was rather pleasant.  One has stereotypical images of the ball-busting successful female professional.  The reality was somewhat different.  I was met by two very charming women – Isabella Porchia and Maria Cristina Storchi – No doubt they have additional characteristics when engaged in business.

The so called female “avvocati d’affari” generally associated to the highest fee-earners, in Italy is a rare phenomenon with such a privilege bestowed to men.  The typical deals made at the dinner table which female presence tend to be omitted especially if they are deemed to have a family commitment.  Indeed small wonder that women even follow this practice area given the hours one is required to work on proposals.  Thus only the most determined women will continue this direction and generally those that are willing to give up a family life or at least have supporting partners. 

It is likely that this is a global challenge that many women have to face.  Some geographical locations tend to make this choice easier than others.  This is where the Mediterranean culture takes over.  Our interviewees in fact are successful but at a price.  Despite the understanding of colleagues and flexibility offered by Lathams, the real problem lies within the Client, and this is not an attitude that can be controlled or managed by the firm.

Herein lies the capability of the lawyer to overcome the resistance and prejudices of the Client towards a female advisor and ensuring her availability and naturally you must be prepared to work doubly hard to prove yourself.  Once the impasse has been overcome, the Client tends to be more congenial.  The problem therefore appears to be cultural and mental which is not so easy to change.  Our corporate sponsors would be interested in understanding from other sectors how this problem has been dealt with and learning more about the workings behind female aggression in the meeting room.

One way in which Latham’s has tackled such an issue is to organise neutral events like charity fundraising and exhibitions in which partners and clients can meet at an acceptable time and discuss neutral topics giving the possibility to humanise both parties.

Finally, they have become corporate sponsors of one of Milan’s up and coming female networks.  Welcome on Board Latham & Watkins.

By Hema Mali

PWA Milan is delighted to welcome Sodexo as its new corporate sponsor.  Needless to say, the name speaks for itself as a world leader in Food and Facilities Management services, with more than 355,000 employees on 30,600 sites in 80 countries. For Fiscal 2008, which closed August 31, 2008, Sodexo had revenues of 13.6 billion euro. Listed on Euronext Paris, the Group has a current market capitalization of 5,8 billion euro.

In Italy Nadia Bertaggia, the HR Director of Sodexo is a firm believer that it’s the people that make the company.  It would appear that she has her work cut out for.  Nadia left at a young age to study in the UK.  After graduating from the Imperial College in London, she returned to Italy to pursue a career in Human Resources. One of the main challenges she saw was that Italian companies did not have structured tools & processes.  Moreover she had to face stiff resistance to make any changes. 

Several years on and having acquired competences in organisational change, she has been called onto do the same for Sodexo. The challenge and resistances remain the same; however she has an added challenge.  One that she thought would not have created a problem.  That is Woman.  She is finding out that the women in her company lack the drive or ambition to enter the echelons.  They tend to be insecure of their capabilities.  Nadia is the only member on the executive board and there are only a few women in a managerial role.

Nadia decided to sign her company as corporate sponsor of PWA in the hope to infuse the professional women’s culture into her employees.  She recognises that her biggest challenge will be to change the mindset of both men and women despite of having presented several initiatives to put in place a business structure.

Some initiatives that have been presented are attracting and retaining employees.  Introducing training, appraisal and reward schemes, transparent compensation plans.  Although common in most anglo-saxon corporations, the fact that it is being introduced at a root level means that there is hope for meritocracy to be established right from the beginning.

Moreover, she is hoping that like-minded professionals facing similar problems can help share solutions and best practices.  Welcome on board Sodexo.  PWA embraces women in the frontline of change.

by Kristina Tool

On June 24 PWA Milan in collaboration with Korn Ferry International presented the first in a series of “Women In” events.  Bringing together top level executives in their respective fields, the objective of these events is to raise a discussion on how women have achieved their success and what can be done to increase the presence of women at the highest professional levels.

 PWA hosted the event for the first time at the Grand Hotel et de Milan on Via Manzoni.  The standing room only crowd included more than 150 professional women who came to listen to four  panel members discuss women working in the male dominated field of finance.

Moderated by PWA president Monica Pesce, the panel was comprised of Giulia Belloni -Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry International, Alessandra Perrazzelli – Head of international affairs, Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, Monica Poggio – Head of Corporate Culture, Unicredit Group and representing the male point of view, Fabio L. Sattin – Chairman and Founding Partner, Private Equity Partners Spa. From the audience, Patrizia Micucci – Senior Partner, BI Invest and Mara Caverni – Partner, PWC, provided their point of view on investment banking and consulting.

The evening began with defining the current situation. Giulia Belloni shared statistics on the greatly disproportionate representation of female executives in the world of finance. Present at the top levels in only single digit percentages, women have a long distance to go before parity is achieved.  Continued discussion reinforced that women in the upper levels of finance are few and far between and Italy ranks lower than many nations in the percentages of women who have achieved upper level positions.

Panelists presented thoughtful and frank responses based on their experiences of working both inside and outside of Italy.  They gap between male and female workers is seen not only in the numbers of women present but in the lower compensation women receive.  It was acknowledged that education and skill levels are not the problem; women who have risen to the top are clearly capable of meeting the high demands which a career in finance places on them, so what reasons remain to explain the situation?

Alessandra Perrazzelli noted a lack of female role models in the upper echelons of corporate executives, in addition to the lack of infrastructure provided to women with families. As the burden of family care still falls on the shoulders of women, (even those employed fulltime) those with families must rely on outside resources which allow them to be able to focus on work.  Italy is especially lacking in providing this support.

Additional reasons could have more to do with self promotion skills. Monico Poggio commented on women needing to be better at first recognizing the value they bring and then doing more in expressing this value through self promotion.  Fabio Sattin added that women are often less aggressive than men.

Discussion also focused on the Italian culture of viewing women in limited roles. Battling the stereotypes of being viewed only as mothers or the predominance the veline in the media and being judged on physical beauty alone, has made it even more challenging for those who aim towards the highest levels.

Monica Pesce continued to probe the panel on what can be done to bring more women to upper levels. Responses took an optimistic tone with the reminder that women have some power in influencing change. Women can demand more from their employers in terms of support, pay and promotions. They can do more to share their achievements and make their accomplishments known so that their true value is understood. Women can also support and encourage each other. 

It was noted that the environment was showing signs of change and that companies have started to recognize the benefits of having more females present in decision making roles. The values of mentors was seen as a strong positive from the panelists view point and also from the perspective of many of the businesses, many of which have started to put programs into place to support and cultivate female leaders. 

While there appeared to be a consensus towards most of the responses, audience members were quick to object to Fabio Sattin’s comment that women were more likely than men to need a structured framework in which to work and perhaps this was a difference between male and female success. Citing the multi-tasking skills which many females exhibit, the idea of a needing a framework was dismissed as a reason for the lack of women seen at the top.

With time running out, the audience was still able to share some ideas on bringing about equality, including PWA Vice president, Malin Carlberg putting forth a provocative question on Italy’s policy of parental leave for fathers.

Wrapping up at about 10PM, the event provided an opportunity for those in attendance to listen to first hand experiences from and about accomplished women in the financial workplace. Although the focus was on women in finance, many of the ideas shared could be applied to a variety of professions.

While the venue was crowded, we received much positive feedback on the presentation and we are looking forward to continuing the series on the fall of 2009 with the Women In Technology and Women In Fashion presentations.

This event is a collaboration between PWA and Korn Ferry International

A look at who occupies management positions in financial companies around the world shows a heavy bias towards men, and an even more dramatic disparity in numbers between male and female executives can be found in Italy. Why is this the case? What can be done to increase women in leadership positions?  For those who have managed to reach the upper levels, how did they get there?  What should companies and individuals be doing to bring more women into corporate leadership roles?

PWA President Monica Pesce, will moderate a discussion designed to help us understand how women have achieved success so far, what we can be doing to increase opportunities and what benefits female leadership will bring to the financial sector and world economy as a whole.

The panel will share their experiences and perspectives gained from working at different companies internationally to help us to find ways to increase opportunities for women seeking leadership roles.

About the panel

Giulia Belloni, Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry International Milan has more than two decades of corporate finance experience.  Prior to joining Korn/Ferry in 1999, she worked for JP Morgan in Milan, where she established a fixed income sales team covering both Italian clients in the domestic and international markets as well as foreign investors in the Italian market, and Chase Manhattan Bank. Ms. Belloni is a graduate of economics from Bocconi University in Milan.

Alessandra Perrazzelli is the Head of International Affairs at Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the largest Italian and European banking groups. Based in Brussels for the last 16 years, Ms Perrazzelli works with the European Institutions on the application of EU banking and financial services law to the internal market. She was appointed to oversee the Gemma project which promotes capitalizing on internal female talent. She holds law degrees in Italy and in New York. She has been mentioned among the top 100 women lawyers in competition law by the Global Competition Review in 2004 and won the 2007 “Premio Bellisario” in the Communication Sector, for her activity promoting Italian interests at EU and International level.

Monica Poggio is head of Corporate Culture for Unicredit Group. Her career in Human Resources spans various multinationals, primarily in the pharmaceutical and mechanical engineering industries, and included managing projects specialized in developing female leadership programs and launching women’s networks. Since 2007 she has directed the “Women and Leadership” track for Unicredit Group.

Fabio L. Sattin is Chairman and Founding Partner of Private Equity Partners Spa, a primary independent financial company, that provides investments in equity capital in unlisted companies. He is currently professor of Business Strategy and Policy at the University Cà Foscari in Venice, and  professor of Private Equity and Venture Capital at Bocconi University. He is co-author of “Private Equity and Venture Capital”, widely used as a text in many university courses and MBA programs in Italy.

Cocktails 7-8 p.m. / Presentation 8-9.30 p.m.
Grand Hotel et de Milan. Via Manzoni 29, (MM Montenapoleone)

Free for members, €20 for guests, payable by cash at the event

Members, please register your participation at www.EuropeanPWN.net

For guest reservations, or additional information, please contact speakers@pwa-milan.org

PWA gratefully acknowledges the contributions of:

Accenture, ATKearney, Bain & Co, Banca d’ Italia, Borsa Italiana, BNP, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Citigroup, Crédit Suisse, Deloitte & Touche, Deutsche Bank, General Electric, Gruppo Allianz, Gruppo Banco Popolare, Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, Gruppo Unicredit, Mediobanca, Natixis, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Sace, Tesoro, UBS Italia

Officially launched on May 7^th and founded thanks to the initiative of the women top managers in a group of leading companies, Valore D concretely aims at supporting Italian companies in developing growth paths for their women talents, in sustaining their women in the way to leading positions and in creating consensus and discussion around a common goal.

The key activities of the Association are grouped in four different areas:

• Mentorship
• Skill building
• Role model
• Flessibilità

 If you want to know more about this important initiative, check the website

Also read the article La Repubblica published today on Valore D, “Professioni, spunta il Valore D”