Besides being the largest company in Italy, Poste Italiane is also the country’s biggest employer, with over 120,000 employees, more than half of whom are women. According to an article published by the newspaper Il Messaggero, this is a record. The Rome-based newspaper notes that Italy not only suffers from low female employment — around 49% in 2021 according to ISTAT data — but also ranks fourteenth in gender equality in European Member States according to the European Institute for Gender Equality.
Poste Italiane in figures
The analysis focuses on the company’s numbers. Specifically, 53% of Poste Italiane’s current workforce is women, with a female presence of 44.4% among Board members, 46% among middle management and executives, and 59% among branch managers. Senior positions also perform well on gender equality. The Chairperson of the Group is Maria Bianca Farina, while the CEO of Poste Welfare Servizi and the general manager of PostePay are also women.
Awards
Poste Italiane’s gender equality policies have been recognised through inclusion in the Top 100 global ranking on gender equality according to Equileap, a leading organisation in gathering data and insights on gender equality in the corporate sector. With the 2024 Sustain and Innovate Plus business plan, the company, led by Matteo Del Fante, aims to initiate a process of change that adds value by involving people to allow the full expression of each person’s potential, also thanks to inclusive working environments. The newspaper further emphasises that Poste Italiane also supports the Charter for Equal Opportunities and Equality at Work and subscribes to the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Equal Opportunities.
The Joint Committee
There is also a bilateral Joint Committee with a mixed composition (company and trade union organisations) which implements the principles of equal treatment and equal opportunities within the company. Globally, the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that governments have committed to achieve by 2030.
