The webinar, attended by more than 100 companies, was a training session on the KPIs required for the certification and the related economic benefits for companies.

The Italian Government launched in fact at the end of 2021 the Italian Gender Equality Certification System.

The certification has been introduced by The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and subsequently regulated by specific national Law (162/21).

Italian Gender Equality Certification System, led by the Italian Department for Equal Opportunities, is based on the definition of guidelines for the certification of gender equality and related incentives for companies that successfully conclude the certification process.

The certification process is available for companies of all sizes and is based on the gender equality practice “Prassi di riferimento UNI/PdR 125:2022” that was issued by UNI on march 2022. The UNI/PdR 125:2022 reference practice provides a set of performance indicators (key performance indicators - KPI) capable of driving change in corporate gender equality policies. The path will be facilitated for small, medium and micro enterprises that can benefit from an economic contribution for the certification expenses and free technical assistance and training.

Gender equality certification can be requested from businesses on a voluntary basis and incentive mechanisms are planned. Companies that have received a gender equality certification are eligible — from the current year — for an exemption from payment of a percentage of the employer’s total social security contributions. Further forms of incentives are linked to participation in tenders, concern the opportunity for the contracting authorities to indicate in their tender notices a higher score linked to gender certification, and must envisage a 30% decrease of the guarantee in contracts for services and supplies with companies that have obtained a gender certification.