Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

A Palazzo Marino the first female mentoring initiative involving professionals and young girls. A total of over 800 women joined the project - Photo gallery

Milan, January 25 2023 – Over 267 female professionals have joined the "Mentorship Milan" for free, the first female empowerment project born within the actions of the "Milan Work Pact", which aims to create a network between women who have achieved positions leaders in the workplace and young people between 16 and 30 to help them acquire greater awareness of their talent, expectations and prospects and thus orient them within the world of work.

"Mentorship Milan" is an initiative made by women for women which aims to contribute to reducing the gender gap and also prevent the phenomenon of "giving up" on a career, as foreseen by the United Nations 2030 Agenda. It is the first time that a public administration has implemented a mentorship project in Italy aimed at supporting younger people and female employment.

From Emma Marcegaglia to Marinella Soldi, from Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato, to Carla Morogallo, general director of Triennale Milano, from stylist Alberta Ferretti to designer Patricia Urquiola, from the rector of the Milan-Bicocca University Giovanna Iannantuoni to the vice-prefect Alessandra Tripodi , from Barbara Stefanelli, deputy director of Corriere della Sera, to Martina Capriotti, co-founder of the digital showroom Mirta. And again Viviana Varese, Maria Porro, Constanza Cavalli Etro, Maria Luisa Trussardi, Luisa Vinci, Francesca Ragazzi: these are just some of the women who have decided to support the girls in this growth path at the height of their formative age, between the end of upper secondary school and the end of university or a professional course.

A total of 555 girls responded to the Municipality's call: today for the first time, a Palazzo Marino, some of them met the reference mentor belonging to the most diverse worlds of work: entrepreneurship, design, fashion, culture, journalism, start-ups, professions and public institutions. With them they will begin a journey of at least three meetings in the next six months to "educate" them in ambition, in the discovery and cultivation of their own aptitudes.

The pairings between mentor and mentee were made following the area preferences declared by the girls, who did not need any particular study or work experience requirements to participate, other than being in the 16-30 age group and being residents. or domiciled in Milan and its province.

"The Mentorship Milano project is a visionary initiative. Female empowerment is a path that still has many obstacles and the gender gap at work is still an unresolved issue – says Sabina Belli, CEO Group Pomellato –. The sharing of experiences and intergenerational know-how through mentorship I believe it is a modality that can generate awareness and open perspectives for a more inclusive and ambitious future for the next generation of Italian talents who it is our duty to cultivate and inspire to think beyond the imposed or perceived limitations ".

"I am honored to be part of this project for the city of Milan, where our group's showroom is located and where I have always shown my ready-to-wear collections. Milan welcomed me at the beginning of my career and she taught a lot from both a professional and human point of view. I am happy to be able to return the favor in some way and make my experience and advice available to these young women to help them embark on their own journey – comments the designer Alberta Ferretti. .

"It is a source of stimulus and pride for me to support and guide the enthusiasm of girls who wish to work in institutions, at the service of the community and the common good – said the vice-prefect of Milan Alessandra Tripodi –. I am convinced that the experience will lead to mutual enrichment, because it will also allow me to see, through the eyes of the new generations, the expectations, ideas and innovations that they can dedicate to public service".

The rector of the University of Milan-Bicocca, Giovanna Iannantuoni, said she was "happy to be part of the Mentorship Milano project whose objectives are combined with the values ​​I firmly believe in: giving women a voice, allowing them to cultivate talents and ambitions , to testify that you can reach the top, in any field, without having to choose between private life and career. I want to bring not only my experience, but also that of the community that I have led as rector in history since 2019 of Milan-Bicocca many top roles have been covered by women, with the support of everyone: women and men".

For the designer Patricia Urquiola it will be an opportunity to "share my experience as a starting point and not an arrival point. As a comparison with the next generation of women, on how to express their potential, without compromise, seeking a balance, a trajectory, which can only be personal and not the pursuit of patterns,” he explained.

The general director of Triennale Milano, Carla Morogallo, states: "I firmly believe that education and training are key elements to promote female leadership, to rethink professional models and paths. Change also comes through example and direct comparison with experiences that can guide , inspire, stimulate young women. One of the great merits of the Mentorship Milano project is to have created a network across different sectors, to have started a dialogue that is essential not only for the younger ones but also for those who participate as mentors, to open a space for reflection on the new challenges that the leaders of today and tomorrow will have to face".

"I am extremely happy and honored to participate in the Mentorship Milan project, together with many extraordinary women, and I can't wait to put my experience at the service of young students. I believe that this project is extremely important to inspire new generations and help them to discover one's talent and enhance it – added the founder of Mirta Martina Capriotti – I hope to be, for my mentees, the mentor that I would have liked to have when as a student I wondered what my future could be and wondered what my future would be. was my place in the world. I strongly believe in giving back and sharing with others one's experiences and the lessons learned along the way, and I am sure that this experience will enrich both myself and the mentees with whom I will work in the coming months".

Among the mentors who joined the project, also Tatiana Biagioni, president of AGI-Italian labor law lawyers: "Gender equality is also built thanks to a non-discriminating culture and 'social environment', based on labor policies, social structures and welfare that allow women and men to reconcile or rather share the commitments of family and work life. The road to achieving this equality is still long, therefore I believe it is also essential to 'invest' in women's self-determination, stimulating and directing them. if necessary – she explained – This is why "Mentorship Milan" is an important and ambitious project, a precious opportunity for all young women who are entering the world of work. Being a mentor for this female empowerment project honors me, because I believe in the value of discussion, education, dialectics and in the generational transfer of experience. It is no coincidence that I am a lawyer and it is no coincidence that I chair an association - AGI Avvocati Giustioristi Italiani - which has the promotion of equality in its statute. gender".

The meetings and mutual exchange between mentors and mentees will be monitored, on a voluntary basis, thanks to the use of the MultiMe®Finder, a digital talent and potential detection tool created by Lifeed which will allow the women involved in the 'Mentoship Milan' to 'map ' one's skills: "Every day we don't use 70% of our soft skills at work: we have them, but we reserve them for the family and personal sphere, and this potential increases when it comes to women – explained the CEO of Lifeed Riccarda Zezza – This is a waste that is no longer sustainable: the world of work needs those soft skills and requires them from those looking for work and those who want to grow professionally. This is why we wanted to support the project of the Municipality of Milan by allowing young people to enter the path with greater awareness of one's potential and for the Municipality to measure the effectiveness of the experience in increasing the participants' self-efficacy and self-esteem".