Since the Reference Practice UNI/PdR 125 "Guideline on the management system for gender equality" was published in March 2022, the company sites that have obtained the accredited certification have grown rapidly, reaching almost 2,800 units (data as of August 2023) corresponding to 813 public and private organizations. The response of the bodies that chose Accredia accreditation according to the UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17021-1 standard to issue certifications was consistent, currently 46 conformity assessment operators.
To encourage the dissemination of the certification tool to support gender equality , there are various measures introduced by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to finance specific initiatives. Among these, the latest in chronological order concerns the creation of the information system (platform) which arises from the agreement between Accredia and the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
The platform allows accredited bodies to enter the data of the certifications issued for gender equality and the individual KPIs (Key Performance Indicators envisaged by the PdR), starting a complete and real-time mapping of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric.
The agreement to support the provision of incentives
The Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Accredia have the common interest of enhancing accreditation as the last and most authoritative element of verification in the chain of conformity assessments , also to promote policies aimed at reducing the gender gap .
As Filippo Trifiletti, General Director of Accredia , explains, the agreement was signed “to help in the provision of incentives; in particular, through our databases, we will provide the details of the companies that have been certified by the accredited bodies and which will therefore be entitled to access the incentives provided by the legislation. For us it is the norm to collaborate with the Government and with Public Administrations in general through agreements of this kind".
On the basis of the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of 29 April, in fact, only the certificates of conformity to UNI/PdR 125:2022 issued under accreditation , which bear the UNI mark and the logo of the accreditation body together with the name of the accredited body, allow companies to access the tax benefits provided by law , because they are the only ones recognised.
The advantages for those who certify under accreditation
The PNRR has already allocated 5.5 million euros to cover the costs of certification of the management system for gender equality and 2.5 million euros in free technical assistance services and certification support by experts.
Accredited gender equality certification can be requested by any type of public, private and non-profit organisation , regardless of the size and nature of the business.
Companies in possession of gender equality certification issued by an accredited body are recognized with a reward score for the granting of state aid as co-financing of the investments made.
There are also rewards associated with participation in tenders.
Specifically, based on art. 108, paragraph 7 of the Public Contracts Code (Legislative Decree 36/2023), contracting authorities must provide a reward score for holders of a management system certified pursuant to UNI/PdR 125/2022: a discount of 20 % of the surety guarantee that the economic operator is required to provide to participate in the award procedures (can be combined with other reductions provided for by the Code).
In addition to the advantages in public tenders, companies certified under accreditation are entitled to a contribution exemption, not exceeding 1% of the total contributions (up to a maximum of 50,000 euros).
Contributions to SMEs certified for gender equality
As the President of Accredia Massimo De Felice explained, the organization "has supported the accreditation certification of gender equality since the publication of the Reference Practice, recognizing it as a valid tool for reducing disparities in the world of work between men and women. We had an immediate response from the market with a large number of organizations requesting accreditation right away and which continues to grow."
Numbers destined to rise further following the publication, last November 6, of the public notice for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for the granting of contributions of up to 12,500 euros per enterprise , for technical assistance and support services, provided below form of tutoring and for gender equality certification services.
The objective of the measure is precisely to accompany and incentivize companies to adopt adequate policies to reduce the gender gap, to facilitate, in line with the National Strategy for Gender Equality, the achievement of 5 points more by 2026 on the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) which currently sees Italy in 13th place among EU countries. (Source: Accredia - The Italian Accreditation Body)