In an era in which the debate on rights is often reduced to superficial declarations, more useful for promoting those who make them rather than solving problems, I discovered a story that has not been publicized and that I believe is important to tell. Especially today, on the Day against Violence against Women. Because it represents a virtuous example of how work, an ecosystem of relationships, can become a place of salvation in the event of domestic violence. And because it tells how companies are finally reflecting on their responsibilities towards their employees, in contrast to the data on professional discrimination that is still widespread. It is the story of a woman saved thanks to the complicity of her company, but it is also the positive case of a company that, over the years, has been able to develop a systemic response to an equally structural problem such as violence against women.

Sara’s story

In addition to the red benches that you will see around the streets today, and in addition to the social debates, the urgency is in fact to transform indignation into a concrete commitment. And that’s exactly what this story managed to do. Because economic independence is the first form of emancipation, and because often, in violent stories full of manipulation and isolation, colleagues are the only interlocutors who remain. It is a story that begins some time ago in a city in Southern Italy and which will remain faceless, because the protagonist will not expose herself for privacy. Sara (not her real name), a victim of domestic violence, is a shop assistant and mother of a small child who finds salvation in the store of the well-known clothing chain she works for. Hell at home, at work the possibility of being reborn.

In fact, the company has a network of “antennas” which, after specific training, are able to recognize situations of violence. And Sara knows who to turn to. Thus, an internal support program is activated for her. She is offered the possibility of moving to a store in another city, as well as the opportunity to increase her working hours until they become full time, in order to support her economic independence. At the same time, she is offered double assistance, both for the beginning of a psychological path and for starting a legal path. Economic help but which also includes referral to trusted professionals. All this – I later learned – is the result of a collaboration that his company, namely Inditex, set up together with CADMI, a well-known anti-violence centre. Before her, thirty other women were helped: in fact, around 10,000 people work in the company and more than 80% are women; to date the network of “antennas” includes approximately 170 people and 17 human resources spread across Italy.

“You’re pregnant, I’ll fire you”: mother kicked out of the children’s hospital (audio of the phone call)

More and more companies feel the responsibility to support women victims of violence

Of course, Inditex is one of the richest multinationals in the world and this means that it is more internally structured. But for some time the need for these initiatives has been underlined by various associations. First of all the “Libellula Foundation”, which carries out projects in the company to combat gender violence, and which explains how 86% of discriminated against people report the lack of a point of reference within their working context. Furthermore, at the beginning of November, “Valore D”, another business network, presented a new policy entitled “From silence to action”, in collaboration with the association “Una niente e centomila”: within, precisely, support such as financial assistance in the form of a salary advance, moving children to another school or home. In June, an exemption for companies also came into force to encourage the hiring of unemployed women victims of violence, beneficiaries of the freedom income. Necessary initiatives: the latest available data count 16 women killed at the hands of their partners as early as April 2024.

But workplaces are still home to discrimination and harassment

Yet, although they may appear to be a path to salvation, jobs are still a site of discrimination. In fact, companies still have a lot of work to do. It is the Libellula Foundation itself that offers a bleak snapshot of the state of gender equity in the professional world in its latest research “Survey LEI”, which collects the research testimonies of 4 thousand women. Some numbers? 40% of women say they have experienced unwanted physical contact at work. Nearly 7 in 10 women received comments that made them feel uncomfortable, particularly female managers. Furthermore, almost 60% of women declare that they have a lower salary than their male colleagues for the same role, responsibility and length of service (“Gender pay gap”). And more than 6 out of 10 women hear the idea circulating that, if a woman has a career, it is because she has used the leverage of seduction to achieve her goals.

Among other concepts, the “Child Penalty”, whereby a working mother not only earns less than her male colleague, but also earns less than she would earn if she did not have children: even today, in fact, almost 7 out of 10 women see their own growth path (or that of other women) due to motherhood or other caring roles. In fact, the category of economic independence mentioned above also includes a dynamic that is still talked about too little, namely the unequal possibilities of access to the job market due to family care and caregiving activities, which are still not distributed equally between the sexes.

Work is hell for women: harassed, underpaid and careers make things worse

If you are a woman who suffers violence, call 112 or the anti-violence and anti-stalking number 1522. Here you will find all the information.

If you are a woman and you recognize yourself in one of the experiences reported, write to the LEI Help Desk, the first national help desk that provides free listening and guidance to women on episodes of discrimination or harassment in the workplace.