Rome, 22 November 2017

Female leadership and the value of gender diversity are key factors for the country's economic and social growth. FS Italiane has committed to working on these aspects with concrete actions and Diversity & Inclusion policies to improve working conditions for women in the Group and encourage their presence at all levels of the organisation.

These issues were illustrated today by Gioia Ghezzi, President of the FS Italiane Group, at the 65th Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM) conference, representing female managers in 50 countries over 5 continents.

«We need political support and regulations to accelerate the process of fully achieving gender equality, but we also need to see more typically feminine characteristics as an advantage,» commented Ghezzi. «In fact, authoritative studies have shown that women tend to use leadership behaviours that improve and strengthen working relations and corporate values more often than men. In particular, they pay attention to the professional growth of their colleagues, meritocracy, and participatory decision-making processes».

More than 800 female managers took part in the conference, which aims to promote and support female entrepreneurship all over the world and share best practices and effective measures to close the gender gap.

«The FS Italiane Group is a solid industrial figure, and is changing the way it works. Our goal is to develop an important integrated collective mobility project in line with the 2017-2026 Industrial Plan. Combatting gender stereotypes is part of our ethics and sustainability drive, which is at the basis of our strategic choices,» concluded the President of FS Italiane. «We are convinced that the search for balance between economic, social and environmental factors can lead to solid, long-lasting development for the company and the country. The issues covered today are part of this great project».