The role of the Committee for the Promotion of Women Entrepreneurship of the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomites.

Fonte: ufficio stampa Presidenza della Camera di Commercio di Treviso Belluno|Dolomiti

Belluno, Treviso 29 May 2024. Women’s enterprises are defined as enterprises where the individual entrepreneur is a woman or, in the case of companies, the participation of women is more than 50 per cent by averaging the share of share capital and administrative offices attributed.

But who represents them and what are the activities implemented in favour of women entrepreneurs?

These are the questions that were answered at the meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce, organised by the Committee for the Promotion of Women Entrepreneurship (Comitato Imprenditoria Femminile) and aimed at local stakeholders.

Moments of meeting and sharing, – highlights the President of the Committee, Barbara Barbon, – are always constructive moments. With this opportunity for discussion, the Committee presents itself to the stakeholders of a ‘special’ territory, that of Belluno, rich in peculiarities and opportunities, combining projects in favour of women entrepreneurship’ which is, and continues to be, an important and transversal driver of economic and social growth in the country.

Women’s enterprises are an important component of our territorial economy, – underlines the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomites Mario Pozza with the data. The balance of business demography as at 31 December 2023 sees, for Treviso and Belluno, in absolute values 18,558 active enterprises led mainly by women. The 2,833 businesses in Belluno led by women employ more than 8,000 company workers, equal to 12.7% of total provincial employees, while the 15,725 businesses in Treviso employ almost 42,000 company workers (equal to 12.7% of total provincial employees). I am pleased, concludes President Pozza, that during my presidency, the Committee for the Promotion of Women Entrepreneurship has been operating at the Chamber of Commerce, the home of enterprises, since 2000, and that its mandate has been renewed for the five-year period 2022-2026. I would like to stress its importance and representativeness, as it is composed of one representative of the Chamber Council and no less than 13 members representing the trade associations, the real engine supporting the economy.

We are in a context of increasing participation of women in the labour market, – emphasises Letizia Bertazzon, Regional Labour Market Observatory (Osservatorio regionale Mercato del lavoro). Over the years employment rates have increased, now at their highest, but still far from those recorded for men (and the EU average). In salaried employment, the number of women’s positions continues to strengthen, having grown over the last few years (net of the effects of the pandemic) with greater intensity than that of men.

The President of the Committee is Barbara Barbon and the two Vice Presidents are: Lorenza Orzes and Moira Fontana.

The members represent all economic sectors. In detail, Ilaria Pempinella with President Barbon and Vice Presidents Orzes and Fontana represent the artisan sector. The trade-services sector is represented by Valentina Cremona and Edda Francesconi Sartori. The agriculture sector is represented by Martina Dal Grande, Silvia Grillo and Chiara Bortolas. The industry sector is represented by Nadia Zampol and Katia Marchesin. Stefania Padoan is representing the insurance-banking sector, Sara Pasqualin is representing the trade unions and Ivana Del Pizzol is representing the Chamber of Commerce Council.

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMMITTEE

The Committee operates in order to promote and enhance the role of women in the business world according to the entrepreneurial world according to the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy and the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce. In particular, it has the task of:

• operate, within the framework of the planning of Chamber activities and in agreement with the Chambers for the development and qualification of the presence of women in the world of entrepreneurship according to the principles of mainstreaming and empowerment;
• participate in the Chambers’ activities by combining the development of local entrepreneurship from a gender perspective;
• foster cognitive surveys on the local entrepreneurial reality, in order to identify opportunities to access and promote women in the world of work and entrepreneurship in particular;
• promote initiatives for the development of women entrepreneurship, also through specific information activities, entrepreneurial and professional training and targeted managerial assistance services, also using information and communication technologies;
• activate initiatives to facilitate access to credit;
• disseminate initiatives and research and study activities on local development promoted by the Chambers of Commerce in the territory;
• propose initiatives, also in collaboration with third parties that carry out activities to promote and support women entrepreneurship;
• build relations with the world of education and training, including schools, universities and research institutes, to promote innovative projects that favour equal opportunities and, in particular, enhance and qualify enterprises managed by women;
• involve local stakeholders, in order to bring objectives concerning the promotion of equal opportunities and gender policies into chamber programming.

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Translated by Cecilia Flaccavento
Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno|Dolomites