By the occasion of International Women’s Day, it is important to remember that women in the agri-food sector are always at the forefront in enhancing local products and territories. They promote sustainable resource management, protect biodiversity, and continuously adapt to climate change.
Just consider their remarkable ability to keep rural areas alive, demonstrating a forward-looking vision even in challenging regions, as well as their skill in diversifying activities with a multifunctional approach by leveraging their multiple intelligences.
While remaining deeply connected to tradition, women-led businesses are more innovative, more sustainable, and more diversified.
As the icing on the cake, Italy boasts the highest number of self-employed women in Europe.
As the National President of the CNA Agri-food Union, I am proud to affirm that we have always paid great attention to the working dynamics of women. A clear example is our recently renewed collective labor agreement in the Food-Baking sector, which applies to as many as 62,330 female workers compared to 58,432 male workers and 28,418 businesses (data from the National CNEL-Uniemens 2023 archive).
A highly relevant topic within our collective agreement is the work-life balance for female workers. Over the years, collective bargaining has introduced several pioneering measures, particularly regarding parental leave, offering more favorable treatment than the law requires.
Thanks to the extensive bilateral system, many of our regional bodies provide various support measures for women, including financial contributions for parental leave, assistance for disabled family members, support for commuting costs, subsidies for participation in recreational and cultural activities, childcare support, and much more.
Also noteworthy is the attention given by social partners in the latest agreement renewal to a particularly sensitive issue: leave for victims of gender-based violence.
Our collective labor agreement provides an additional three months of leave beyond the legally mandated three months. During the first two months of this extended leave, the company grants the employee an allowance equal to 30% of the base salary.
Another key priority is investing in continuous training to enable women to access higher-responsibility and leadership roles, as well as to enhance their technical and managerial skills. Promoting a cultural shift towards greater equity in opportunity distribution is a duty.
The agri-food sector can and must become a model of inclusion where women can fully express their potential.
Francesca Petrini
