Companies with a unique slant
Seven stories by seven women who succeeded in becoming key company assets
Not “women-driven”, but all-round enterprises – basically, just enterprises. As they should always be, at least when a company really is an enterprise, that is, something that’s alive, grows and evolves. Thus, enterprises where the contribution of women is significant and representative, rather than a simple “extra” or a concession made by a dominant male majority. A key element of the enterprise itself, which is then enhanced and strengthened by different ways of conceiving production organisation, by the integration of diverse perspectives that, ultimately, will merge into a single one.
The theme of women’s and men’s roles at work is a sensitive one, and Adriano Moraglio – life-long economic journalist for Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore – treats it with the due attention and perception in his L’impronta delle donne. Sette racconti: quando in azienda il contributo femminile diventa fondamentale (The impact of women. Seven stories: when women’s contribution becomes key in a company), which, as the title suggests, includes seven stories about women who succeeded in achieving significant roles in successful companies. Just to be clear, these are not women tycoons or women who have inherited large fortunes. These are people who, due to social conventions or particular circumstances, did not have the chance to act on their dreams at a young age and yet, thanks to their special ability to adapt to circumstances, have undertaken unexpected paths that led them to accomplish their career ambitions. Thus, women who, on the one hand, managed to climb up the ladder while, on the other hand, also fulfilled their maternal desire, without losing their individual attitude to life and work. Above all, women who succeeded in becoming who they are thanks to the equal relationship they established with their partners, which enables them to pursue their goals out of mutual respect, rather than having to fight for them.
In about 150 pages, the book narrates the stories of women managers working in enterprises that make pens or household accessories, in the food industry and in the field of robotics. Different stories that, nonetheless, share some common features – having to abandon certain dreams yet discovering new ones, the path to adulthood, a sense of duty, the struggle in reconciling life’s different aspects, as well as life’s defeats, victories, disappointments, joys and sorrows. Thus, this work outlines a corporate culture seen from a different, yet wholly comprehensive, perspective. Its main message is perfectly summarised in its Introduction by Marianna Carlini: we must be aware of how valuable diversity is – diversity understood not as “an issue related to the gender debate”, but as a feature that “when it transcends gender, becomes a universal value.”
L’impronta delle donne. Sette racconti: quando in azienda il contributo femminile diventa fondamentale (The impact of women. Seven stories: when women’s contribution becomes key in a company)
Adriano Moraglio
Rubbettino, 2022
Seven stories by seven women who succeeded in becoming key company assets
Not “women-driven”, but all-round enterprises – basically, just enterprises. As they should always be, at least when a company really is an enterprise, that is, something that’s alive, grows and evolves. Thus, enterprises where the contribution of women is significant and representative, rather than a simple “extra” or a concession made by a dominant male majority. A key element of the enterprise itself, which is then enhanced and strengthened by different ways of conceiving production organisation, by the integration of diverse perspectives that, ultimately, will merge into a single one.
The theme of women’s and men’s roles at work is a sensitive one, and Adriano Moraglio – life-long economic journalist for Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore – treats it with the due attention and perception in his L’impronta delle donne. Sette racconti: quando in azienda il contributo femminile diventa fondamentale (The impact of women. Seven stories: when women’s contribution becomes key in a company), which, as the title suggests, includes seven stories about women who succeeded in achieving significant roles in successful companies. Just to be clear, these are not women tycoons or women who have inherited large fortunes. These are people who, due to social conventions or particular circumstances, did not have the chance to act on their dreams at a young age and yet, thanks to their special ability to adapt to circumstances, have undertaken unexpected paths that led them to accomplish their career ambitions. Thus, women who, on the one hand, managed to climb up the ladder while, on the other hand, also fulfilled their maternal desire, without losing their individual attitude to life and work. Above all, women who succeeded in becoming who they are thanks to the equal relationship they established with their partners, which enables them to pursue their goals out of mutual respect, rather than having to fight for them.
In about 150 pages, the book narrates the stories of women managers working in enterprises that make pens or household accessories, in the food industry and in the field of robotics. Different stories that, nonetheless, share some common features – having to abandon certain dreams yet discovering new ones, the path to adulthood, a sense of duty, the struggle in reconciling life’s different aspects, as well as life’s defeats, victories, disappointments, joys and sorrows. Thus, this work outlines a corporate culture seen from a different, yet wholly comprehensive, perspective. Its main message is perfectly summarised in its Introduction by Marianna Carlini: we must be aware of how valuable diversity is – diversity understood not as “an issue related to the gender debate”, but as a feature that “when it transcends gender, becomes a universal value.”
L’impronta delle donne. Sette racconti: quando in azienda il contributo femminile diventa fondamentale (The impact of women. Seven stories: when women’s contribution becomes key in a company)
Adriano Moraglio
Rubbettino, 2022