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Dondena Centre has received funding from the European Commission for a research project on the gender balance on the boards of directors. Paola Profeta will work on it

Bocconi's Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics has won a €100,000 research grant to study the gender balance on the boards of directors of Italian companies. The sum is Dondena's share of a €260,000 grant assigned by the European Commission's "Progress" Programme to the two-year research programme Women Mean Business and Economic Growth-Promoting Gender Balance on Company Boards, as conveyed to the partner organizations on July 24.

The two-partner consortium which has received the funding is led by the Italian Government's Department for Equal Opportunities.

"Women are underrepresented in economic decision-making throughout Europe", Paola Profeta, responsible of the project for Dondena, said, "but Italy ranks among the worst performers, with wide gender gaps in employment, wages, and careers. These statistics stand in stark contrast to educational achievement, where Italian women have seen higher attainment and greater enrolment in higher education at least since 2010", Profeta continued. "In 2010, Italy ranked among the lowest in terms of women on boards of major companies, ahead of only Portugal".

The grant provides funding to analyse the current situation of female representation on company boards, the professional backgrounds of women on boards, and the effects of Italy's new law on the quality of boards, organizations, and the economy overall. This new research will shed light on the link between the selection process for those serving on boards and female leadership, using theoretical studies and an experimental approach.

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