Opera was my initial introduction to Italy. I vividly remember as a wide-eyed child in the 1980s’ China, worlds apart from Italy, on Sunday mornings, I woke up in birds chirping, gentle sunlight, and, opera songs, played by my parents from our cassette boombox. Fascinated and enchanted, I would close my eyes and imagine: the great concert halls, and the stories, lives, and cultures inside operas, week after week, month after month. Then I blinked, time flew, loved ones aged, world changed beyond recognition. Years later I traveled to New York to study, where I visited Lincoln Center for the first time, home of the...

  The STEM fields are living in an ongoing talent crisis. Worldwide there is an evident gap between open positions and profiles able to fill them. And no matter the need and the benefits of enlarging the pool from where to draw, half of the potential talents remain unexplored. It isn't wholly fostered and, overall, often overlooked. Girls and women continue to be told science and technology are not subject matters for them. Significant steps forward have been made and more students have accessed higher education programs, entered the labour market with higher qualifications, have been promoted and granted better-paid jobs. Yet,...

  "We cannot find the right female profile to become our [insert a top position here]," is an excuse - if it ever was such - soon to become outdated. Or that, when used, will unmask purposeful fabrications. In the past few years, women have been enrolling on business schools in numbers never seen before. And that means that more and more (and more) female professionals are ready to lead a company, a division or a team. If it was ever needed, now more and more (and more) have all the certifications to prove it. To be clear, that should not have not even been the case. But, to be honest, when choosing a profile for top positions,...

    Since November, in Texas, young women under 18 must have parental consent to access free contraception offered by Title X. This federal grant program was created in 1970 to provide family planning and preventive health services. With this decision, the State, which has already been known for its conservative positions in matters of reproductive - then, also health at large - rights, further implements its restrictive laws in matters of family planning. And it does so just months after last year's overturning of the US Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which made the termination of pregnancy a constitutional right for...

    Trends wordlwide prove that greater diversity in the workplace, from junior employees to c-suits, results in better financial results. This summer, the behavioural science consultancy MindGym put down some numbers to highlight the benefits. The paper argues that businesses with higher levels of diversity outperform and are more innovative. “Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 21% more likely to deliver above-average profits than those in the bottom quartile. Those in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are 33% more likely to deliver above-average profits than the lowest quartile.” Moreover, “Inclusive...

    In 2022 gender equality progresses at a snail's pace. Worsened even by complex crises that have become the norm. And, as numbers show, the decrease in growth and advancement is spread throughout the EU. These remarks accompany EIGE's Gender Equality Index. The current edition refers to data collected in 2020, and with everything that has happened since, the results are described as warning signs of an unaltered situation for women. This year's Index shows pieces of evidence of rising inequalities and unprecedented drops. "What is most pressing – intervenes EIGE Director Carlien Scheele - is that this year's score has taken a...

  The video games industry is in excellent shape. In 2020 Covid boosted the time and money spent playing and the penetration of gaming in everyday lives. More people than ever engaged in mini-adventures to play on their smartphones or started longer quests with others online. After such a jump, most expected a slight decline. Yet, in 2021, the market size improved by 1.4%, with a revenue of 180.3 billion dollar. And some expect it to expand further at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% from 2022 to 2030. That is good news for many businesses in the compartment, and in terms of employment opportunities. From the...

  Two and ½ years of the Covid era, and employees do not want to return to the workplace of the past. Especially women – who have significantly paid the higher price – demand more. Even more so those in leadership positions. If they feel they need to get more, in terms of flexibility, opportunity and companies' commitment to DE&I, they don't fear leaving in search of better conditions. Women leaders are switching their jobs  «We are in the midst of "The Great Breakup"» confirms McKinsey and LeanIn.org's recently published Women in the Workplace Report. Women leaders are switching their jobs at an unprecedented pace. To put...

    Teenage girls are showing an increased interest in STEAM fields and are considering those fields for a career. Since technology permeates all aspects of living, there are more STEAM open positions than male professionals can fill. Thus, there is great potential for women, who continue to be well underrepresented in those areas. But when it comes to representation, presence and participation of women in STEAM jobs, the good news almost end here. The challenges begin early in women's lives and continue throughout their careers. They tend to consider those areas too difficult or not something for them and are less inclined to...

    Sadly, it is common knowledge: motherhood is a penalty. From the less evident gap registered in some countries of South East Asia to the visible inequality in most places in Latin America, becoming a mother represent a disadvantage to a complete stop and all the nuances in between everywhere. And it is a setback for most of those who aspire to leadership roles. Covid-related restrictions made more evident than ever how disproportionately women shoulder caregiving needs. They are overrepresented in frontline occupations, like services and healthcare, and at higher risk of getting sick or losing their jobs, then more likely to fall...