Blueitaly, gender equality as a growth strategy

Local channels framed her at the table with the president of the newly formed Montesilvano Municipal Equal Opportunities Commission, Paola Sardella, and well-known institutional representatives of the Abruzzo Region at the Summit ‘Women and Work: Beyond the Obstacle’, organized on October 30th, 2023 at the Pala Dean Martin in the city of the province of Pescara. Cinzia Di Zio – owner and creative director of Blueitaly™ – is an example of a ‘woman entrepreneur in that area who made it, who succeeded’, who has seen her company in the fashion and luxury sector grow and prosper, benefiting people and ‘her Pescara’.
The event, as mentioned earlier, marked the inauguration of the Montesilvano Equal Opportunities Commission. The commission proposes itself as a point of reference for Abruzzo women with a view to personal growth and economic emancipation as a fundamental lever in the fight against all forms of gender- based violence. Placing female employment in Abruzzo at the center of the debate, with speeches by institutions and the testimony of female entrepreneurs in the Pescara area.
Work is the first form of independence, and even more so is quality employment. Under criticism, even in the Abruzzo region, is the gender pay gap, or rather the wage and social security gap between men and women, which heavily penalizes the latter. Not only that, the gender gap also figures among the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training): in Italy, one girl aged between 15 and 29 out of four does not study and does not look for work. A situation determined, on the one hand, by conventions or social pressures that tend to give greater importance to the role of women within the family. On the other, by a labor market that favors the employment of young men over young women, in the absence of adequate and accessible services that make it possible to reconcile professional activity with childcare. As age advances, in fact, for Italian women entry into the workplace becomes a distant dream: according to the most recent Eurostat data, between the ages of 30 and 34, NEET women are 38%, compared to 18.5% of their male peers.
On the occasion of the conference, President Paola Sardella initiated Blueitaly™ to obtain the gender equality certification regulated by the UNI 125/2022 standard. The activity of the company is in fact fully compliant with the guidelines on the management system for gender equality. “For Blueitaly™ Group,” says Cinzia Di Zio, “gender equality is not a mere declaration or bureaucratic fulfilment. It is a fundamental value that nurtures our corporate culture. We recognize the talent, skills and potential of every individual, regardless of gender. We firmly believe that diversity is an asset and that only through the inclusion of all voices can we achieve our goals.”
Women entrepreneurs are generally more inclusive towards female employees who, especially in the SME sector, see merit, commitment and quality recognized on a par with their male colleagues. ‘My company,’ Cinzia Di Zio continues, ‘has 80 per cent female employees, all well-placed, with the possibility of flexible working hours (including reversible part-time) based on weekly organized shifts. In terms of pay, there is no gender pay gap: I sponsor the ability, willingness and aptitude to realize a project. As a growth- oriented entrepreneur, I have the goal and commitment to make a profit from my business, to produce a profit on the balance sheet, so I have no interest in valuing a man as such especially if he is less capable than a woman or vice versa’.
It is also urgent, according to Cinzia Di Zio, to close the skills gap and effectively promote diversity and inclusion in STEM, overcoming cultural stereotypes and the classic prejudice that women are not naturally inclined to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Fortunately, the data seems encouraging both at a national level and with regard to Abruzzo: the ever-increasing frequency of girls in technical institutes, for example, is a source of hope for a growth in female employment even within those sectors that represent the future.
Founded in Montesilvano in 2013, Blueitaly™ (a name inspired by Cinzia’s favorite color and the sustainable business model of the Blue Economy) has been investing in the development of sustainable innovations for the fashion supply chain, particularly in the textile finishing sector, for over ten years. The latest development in this direction is the Bioproject™ division which, with the Industrial Waste™ and Chrisalys™ brands, produces zero environmental impact treatments and processes obtained from the use of redundant or waste materials. The company pursues transparency by validating processes through the public ABC Abruzzo Blockchain technology. It recently launched its innovative hi-tech production line of fabrics, leathers and synthetics for fashion by inaugurating, through a major building renovation, the new 3,000-square- metre Blueitaly Industry™ factory near the center of Pescara.
The Group manages projects and production of special processing for the most important international fashion brands: Thermovolume™ and Logohook™ (two company patents), hot laser, cold laser, machine and hand embroidery, needle punching, ultrasound, 3D printing, taping, heat sealing, laminating, coating, special laundry processing, screen printing, digital printing, sublimation printing.

www.blueitaly.org

Da sinistra/From the left: Cinzia Di Zio, titolare Blueitaly; Nicoletta Verì, assessora alle Pari Opportunità Regione Abruzzo; Paola Sardella, presidente Pari Opportunità Comune di Montesilvano; Ottavio De Martinis, sindaco Comune di Montesilvano

Cinzia Di Zio during the ‘Women and Work: Beyond the Obstacle’ conference. Blueitaly™’s activity is perfectly aligned with the UNI 125/2022 standard regulating gender equality

BlueitalyTM 3D processing

The BlueitalyTM stand at Lineapelle