In order to understand better what the perceptions of PWA are of those who know the association well, those who know it a little and those who have never heard of it, a survey was recently conducted of the opinions of 15 women representative of each level of familiarity. The aim was, first, to discover how well PWA meets its members’ expectations and, second, to find out the views of those who had been a guest only once or twice or had heard of PWA only via word of mouth. In-depth interviews were conducted in order to gain even more insight than traditional multiple choice or open queries.The women who participated in the survey were demographically diverse, in terms of age, marital status and nationality. Some were entrepreneurs, some were from the corporate sector, and some worked for smaller companies.

PWA member Francesca Arra, an innovation policy and project manager with experience in data collation and analysis, prepared a list of guidelines, areas to cover and interview techniques designed to elicit responses that would be the most complete possible. After the interviews were finished, Francesca analysed the data and drew the following conclusions, which the current Board is using as guidelines to continue to shape and improve the overall PWA experience.

The Speaker Dinners and Speaker Meetings were widely appreciated since they combined the opportunity to network and to hear and interact with interesting speakers. It was mentioned that the time allotted to the speakers sometimes was not sufficient and that the aperitivo area in the bar was too crowded. These issues have already been addressed by extending the Speaker Meetings by half an hour to 9.30 p.m. and by moving the cocktail hour venue into the restaurant.

The desire to be integrated more easily into the group was mentioned repeatedly. Newcomers often find it difficult to meet members; and learning about all of the benefits of membership, also, is not an easy task. The Orientation Directors are concentrating this year on putting into place specific action plans that introduce newcomers to others and communicate clearly the value of PWA to those not familiar with the group.

Networking expectations was a common theme: almost all of those interviewed cited a desire to expand their circles of contacts as a primary motive for becoming involved with PWA. It was stated frequently that there were obstacles to personal interaction that could be removed by providing an atmosphere more conducive to professional and personal exchanges. In response, focus has been placed on providing a comfortable environment without size constraints and inappropriate distractions where members can meet: the area at the StarHotel Rosa used for the aperitivo prior to Speaker Meetings has been expanded; and networking events have been converted into unstructured affairs where participants can mix and mingle as much as they like for the price of a drink.

Increasing PWA’s professional services was suggested as a way of raising the perceived value of membership. Therefore, the Professional Services table has been launched to encourage the exchange of members’ promotional material; also in the works is a Professional Services Offered board on the PWA website, where members will be able to post – free of charge – announcements of their services, including links to their sites. New membership benefits will continue to be implemented and existing ones will be further explained and publicized.

The Board is constantly striving to be proactive in soliciting feedback from members and guests and acting upon suggestions that have a wide appeal so that PWA Milan may continue to grow in a direction that contributes to the professional and personal progress of its members.

The assistance of Francesca and of the women who participated in the survey is appreciated and gratefully acknowledged.

Maria Lassila
Vice President

Are you aware of the new law that allows you to designate a percentage of your Italian federal income tax to a charity of your choice?As an individual payer of Italian federal income tax (IRPEF), you are probably aware that you may opt, as in past years, to designate otto per mille – 0.08 percent – of your 2005 tax-year liability to the state or to one of the six religious organisations listed on your tax form, without incurring any additional amount due.

Starting this year, however, you may also designate an additional cinque per mille – 0.05 percent – to any of the non-profit groups on the “approved” list created by the Agenzie delle Entrate. The current list of non-profit groups awaiting approval can be found at www.agenziaentrate.gov.it. The final approved list will be posted there by 10 March 2006.

PWA encourages you to take this opportunity to financially assist a worthy cause without taking an additional centesimo out of your pocket. We are happy to see that Fondazione Risorsa Donna, the charity for which we raised funds at our Holiday Party, is among those listed and we look forward to seeing the confirmation of their eligibility within the next days.

Whichever deserving group you support, please don’t let this opportunity slip away. Make a note of the name and codice fiscale of your chosen eligible beneficiary, add this information to the specified portion on your tax form with your signature, and by doing so, send your tax money to the people you believe will use it wisely and well.

Michel Rapazzini, Chartered Accountant
& Maria Lassila, PWA Vice President

A big welcome back to all of you who spent your summer holidays elsewhere, as well as those who, like me, enjoyed the gloriously empty Milan of August.As the new PWA board is officially in place and working toward organizing events for the term, I’d like to point out a couple of changes – compared with the last PWA year – that are based on feedback received from members throughout the year as well at the General Assembly held in May. Looking at our calendar, you will see that we’ve returned to the practice of scheduling events on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, except where bank holidays interfere and in the month of September, when we have traditionally delayed the first meeting after August so that as many members as possible are back from wherever summer took them.

The speaker meetings held at the Starhotel Rosa will be held on the third Wednesday of each month, while the networking aperitivi will be held on the first Wednesday. This year, the aperitivi will be held at one central location every month at Centro Svizzero, Via Palestro 2, off of Piazza Cavour in the bar on the fourth floor, La Terrazza.

Soon we will be sending out a survey asking you for your opinions on PWA events. Please take the time to answer, as we will be taking into account your opinions as we continue to tailor our program.

One objective we as the board agree upon unanimously – we’d like to motivate our members to personally participate in helping PWA deliver what matters most to all of us. What part will you play?

Maria Lassila
President, PWA