Inclusivity and smart working form the foundations of FiloBlu’s female empowerment plans

Engage, 08/03/2020

FiloBlu is bolstering its ranks and taking the number of members of staff on its books past 180 thanks to growth that – in stark contrast with the national figures for Italy – is strongly guided by the values of inclusivity and women’s empowerment, as the strategic consulting firm underlines. The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2020 (click here to see it) puts Italy in 117^th place (out of 153 countries) when it comes Economic Participation and Opportunity for women. It is an extremely negative result but a few outstanding organizations such as FiloBlu are proving that there are clear exceptions to the rule. There is 15% year-on-year growth in the team and more than 90 members are women, including in leading roles: Head of Retail & Store Management, Head of Human Resources, Head of Contracts & Legal, Sales Accounting Manager, Head of Design, and Head of Sales Assistance. The company aims to offer career opportunities to every single member of staff and nurture all of their talents, in order to pave the way to greater fluidity with a focus on equal opportunities, recognizing skills and capabilities, and making the most of them. The emphasis on work-life balance is taking things in the same direction. It is underpinned by well-established, widespread smart working techniques, which were already in place before the pandemic and benefit the whole team. The agile, objective-oriented approach ensures that high standards are guaranteed when it comes to the quality of the work done. Provisions are in place to enable women who go on maternity leave to continue with their career plans and everything is made easier by flexible options for the return to work, to cater to individual needs. The direct result of this is that there are very few requests to take early maternity leave and the vast majority of staff return to work as soon as possible.

“Thanks to our flexible structure, it’s possible to reach prominent professional positions without sacrificing personal ambitions. And there’s no gender pay gap: remuneration is based exclusively on skills and experience, with no part played by gender,” explains Alessia Fanton, FiloBlu’s Head of Human Resources. “There are numerous opportunities, and they are open to all those who want to show their talents and come to the forefront in a highly innovative and challenging setting. We have 18 vacancies at this very moment.” FiloBlu has also decided to join the Women’s Empowerment project funded by the Veneto regional authorities. It is a training scheme for women only that aims to promote female talent, creativity and skills. The initiative reflects the overall approach taken by the company, which appreciates the need for inclusiveness and is going to ever greater efforts to raise awareness and aid the progress of all women.