Women in the PNRR: the data show that a strategy is needed to promote female employment. The goal is a 4 percent increase by 2026. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan has allocated resources and interventions to allow full participation in the world of work.
The main intervention points foreseen in the PNRR are the following:
- certification of gender equality to encourage companies to adopt adequate policies to reduce the gender gap;
- introduction of new recruitment mechanisms in the PA and review of opportunities for promotion to high-level management positions aimed at guaranteeing equal opportunities both in terms of participation in the labor market and in career progression;
- provision of measures dedicated to smart working in the Public Administration for a balance between professional life and private life;
- strengthening and modernizing the tourist and cultural offer with the aim of having an employment impact on sectors with a strong female presence such as hotels, restaurants, cultural activities;
- definition of a nursery school plan to bring the percentage of coverage currently equal to 25.5 per cent closer to the European average, equal to 33 per cent;
- strengthening of educational services for children (3-6 years) and extension of full-time schooling;
- establishment of the Women's Business Fund with two objectives:
- strengthen already existing measures launched to support entrepreneurship, such as NITO and Smart&Start;
- strengthen the new Fund for female entrepreneurship, already envisaged by the 2021 Budget Law but not yet operational;
- valorisation of social infrastructures and creation of autonomy paths for the disabled foreseen in the with indirect effects on employment through the lightening of the burden of unpaid care which often weighs on the female component of the population;
- the strengthening of proximity services and home assistance support .
For companies in possession of the gender equality certification, there are exemptions up to a maximum limit of 50,000 euros per year from the payment of the total social security contributions to be paid by the employer and rewards in the evaluation of public tenders.
The UNI and ISO standards offer reference models that organizations can voluntarily adopt.
In 2021, ISO 30415 was published, the first ISO standard in the field of Diversity and Inclusion . The standard embraces a 360° concept of Diversity. It is aimed not only at Human Resources, but also at the numerous other functions - from marketing to communication - which can play a very important role in the D&I field. ISO 30415 is offered for internal reflection which can culminate in a self-assessment, according to a checklist shown in the appendix. It is also possible to ask for an independent third-party evaluation to get out of self-referencing, increase one's credibility and access state subsidies.
On 16 March 2022, the UNI Reference Practice focused on gender equality was also published. In line with the principles of ISO 30415, the PdR UNI 125:2022 defines a management system to guarantee gender equality, also indicating the fundamental KPIs for measuring one's level of maturity. The Reference Practice provides for the intervention of an independent third party , called to certify the compliance of the management system with respect to the requirements, as well as the achievement of a minimum score threshold deriving from the coverage – or otherwise – of the various KPIs.