Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Gender Inequality

PAOLA PROFETA TACKLES THE ISSUE IN THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE CLARITY IN A MESSY WORLD PODCAST

As the pandemic put the whole world in disarray, countries led by women have had the best results in the fight against the coronavirus. However, in Europe women hold only 37% of managerial positions and a paltry 18% of senior executive positions.
 
Paola Profeta, Professor of Public Policy and Director of AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality at Bocconi, addresses the topic in the latest episode of the Clarity in a Messy World podcast series.
 
 
The public policies most beneficial to women in the workplace, Professor Profeta says, regard paternity leave and childcare. Both of them have to do with childbearing, which is the “difficult point”. Because of difficulties related to maternity, female employment, at least in Italy, is a more crucial issue than the gender paygap.
 
Professor Profeta confirms the existence of the “glass ceiling”, which keeps women from covering top hierarchical positions, and underlines the effectiveness of quotas for company boards, which proved to promote a more efficient selection process, thus improving also the quality of male board members. “In an ideal world, we don’t need quotas, but we are very far from an ideal world!”, she says.
 
Clarity in a Messy World, hosted by David W. Callahan, is the Bocconi podcast that looks at the causes behind the most confounding issues of our time. You can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, and YouTube.
 

by Fabio Todesco