Gender Equality and the Workplace: Rome 2026
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About the event
About This Seminar
Gender Equality and the Workplace: Rome 2026 is a two-day, invitation-only expert seminar convened by the International Network of Women Leaders together with the Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (ISSD), held at the Pontificia Università Antonianum in Rome. It reflects the standard the Network brings to serious institutional dialogue: rigorous programming, high-caliber participation, and a hosted experience built for a curated group of international guests.
A Model for High-Level Convening
Seven themed panels, each seating exactly three experts and guided by a named moderator, move the conversation from where gender equity at work stands today, through the structural pressures of parenthood, motherhood, and skilling on women's careers, to a closing set of panels examining equal treatment, regional challenges across Asia and Africa, and leadership pathways for women in the workplace. The format — rigorous, small-group, expert-driven — is built for real dialogue, not a stage for speeches.
Rigorous inquiry, held in common — across disciplines, sectors, and borders.
Institutions in the Room
Panelists represent Harvard Kennedy School, the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, the Inter-American Development Bank, Microsoft, the UN CEDAW Committee, and universities across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia — sixteen countries in total. Assembling that caliber of participation around a single theme reflects the Network's reach and its credibility as a convening partner.
The First of a Three-City Series
Rome 2026 opens a three-part series examining Goal 5 of the UN 2030 Agenda in successive editions: Rome (2026), Mexico City (2027), and Washington, D.C. (2028). Each edition builds on the last, extending the same model — expert panels, institutional co-organization, and a lasting publication — to a new regional and institutional context. A print publication compiling panelist contributions is planned as a lasting output of this first edition.
Execution at Scale
The seminar is run as a fully hosted, two-day program: centrally arranged travel and accommodations, simultaneous interpretation in English, Spanish, Italian, and French, and a full guest program bookending the sessions. Coordinating dozens of international guests across a formal academic program reflects the operational standard the Network brings to every convening it organizes — the standard prospective partners and future co-organizers can expect.
Speakers
Adele Ercolano
Adele Ercolano represents the Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (ISSD). She moderates Panel 2, on parenthood support and work–life balance, and Panel 7, on leadership pathways.
Adele Ercolano
Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Italy)
Agnieszka Piasna
Agnieszka Piasna is Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) in Brussels, with a PhD in Sociology from Cambridge. Her research focuses on job quality, labour market regulation, and the future of work.
Agnieszka Piasna
Senior Researcher, European Trade Union Institute (Poland)
Albertine Tshibilondi Ngoyi
Albertine Tshibilondi Ngoyi brings an African and intercultural perspective to Panel 7, on leadership pathways for women in the workplace. She represents the Centre CEAF&RI, based between Congo and Belgium.
Albertine Tshibilondi Ngoyi
Centre CEAF&RI – Centre d'Études Africaines et de Recherches Interculturelles (Congo/Belgium)
Alejandra Segura
Alejandra Segura is President of the International Network of Women Leaders. She opens and closes the Rome 2026 seminar on the Network's behalf.
Alejandra Segura
President, International Network of Women Leaders (Argentina)
Alice Bresolin
Alice Bresolin represents the Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (ISSD). She moderates Panel 6, on challenges for women and work in Asia and Africa.
Alice Bresolin
Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Brazil)
Andrea García Beltrán
Andrea García Beltrán brings a private-sector perspective to Panel 4, on skilling and reskilling women in a changing labor market. She is affiliated with Cyber Europe | Nirvana in Colombia.
Andrea García Beltrán
Cyber Europe | Nirvana (Colombia)
Anita Cadavid
Anita Cadavid represents the Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (ISSD). She co-opens the seminar and moderates Panel 4, on skilling and reskilling women in a changing labor market.
Anita Cadavid
Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Colombia)
Astrid Lobo Gaijwala
Astrid Lobo Gaijwala is a scientist, researcher, and feminist theologian who pioneered tissue banking in India, heading the Tissue Bank at Tata Memorial Hospital. She was the first woman elected President of the Asia Pacific Association of Surgical Tissue Banks.
Astrid Lobo Gaijwala
Founder, ALG BioTech; former Head of Tissue Bank, Tata Memorial Hospital (India)
Begoña Rodríguez
Begoña Rodríguez Díaz is a Senior Lecturer of European Union Law and International Law at Francisco de Vitoria University. Her research focuses on human rights, disability, equality, and non-discrimination.
Begoña Rodríguez
Senior Lecturer, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Spain)
Brenda Akia
Brenda Akia is Vice Chair and Rapporteur of the UN CEDAW Committee and Chair of its African Group — the first Ugandan and youngest African ever elected to its leadership. A human rights lawyer with a PhD from the University of Pretoria, she has worked with the International Criminal Court and Human Rights Watch.
Brenda Akia
Vice Chair & Rapporteur, UN CEDAW Committee (Uganda)
Emanuela Pozzan
Emanuela Pozzan is Senior Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Specialist at the International Labour Organization, with over 20 years' experience across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. She co-manages the Secretariat of the Equal Pay International Coalition.
Emanuela Pozzan
Senior Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Specialist, International Labour Organization (Lebanon)
Catherine Hadechini
Catherine Hadechini is VP of Operations and Country Leader for Colombia and Perú at Foundever. With 19 years in the BPO industry, she built her career from frontline roles into senior executive leadership.
View Full BioCatherine Hadechini
VP of Operations & Country Leader, Colombia and Peru, Foundever (Colombia/Peru)
Catherine Hadechini is VP of Operations and Country Leader for Colombia and Perú at Foundever. With 19 years in the BPO industry, she built her career from frontline roles into senior executive leadership.
Iris Bohnet
Iris Bohnet is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School and co-director of its Women and Public Policy Program. A behavioral economist, she is the author of What Works: Gender Equality by Design and advises governments worldwide.
Iris Bohnet
Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School (USA)
Joan C. Williams
Joan C. Williams is Founding Director of the Center for WorkLife Law and a leading American legal scholar on gender, family, and the workplace. Her work pioneered U.S. legal protections for caregivers and popularized terms including the "maternal wall."
Joan C. Williams
Founding Director, Center for WorkLife Law (USA)
Luz María Sierra
Luz María Sierra is Director of El Colombiano newspaper in Medellín. A journalist with a Master's in Political Science, she has received six national journalism awards for her investigative reporting.
Luz María Sierra
Director, El Colombiano (Colombia)
Lara Bersano
Lara Bersano represents the International Network of Women Leaders. She moderates Panel 5, on equal opportunities and gendered penalties in contemporary workplaces.
Lara Bersano
International Network of Women Leaders (Argentina)
Marcella Mallen
Marcella Mallen is President of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) and of Prioritalia, and former President of Manageritalia. She also serves on the Scientific Committee of UN Women Italy.
Marcella Mallen
President, ASviS – Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (Italy)
María Caridad Araujo Moreno
M. Caridad Araujo is Chief of the Gender and Diversity Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). A native of Ecuador, she holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Berkeley.
María Caridad Araujo Moreno
Chief, Gender and Diversity Division, Inter-American Development Bank (Ecuador)
María Cruz Díaz de Terán
This presentation examines women’s leadership pathways in the European Union from the perspective of institutional justice and public policy. It starts from a central paradox: despite women’s high levels of education and their increasing participation in the labour market, their access to decision-making positions remains limited, uneven and often insufficiently connected to their actual contribution to economic and social life. The presentation identifies three critical points for policy analysis: the weak conversion of female talent into professional recognition, the career penalties associated with care responsibilities, and the gap between formal representation and real decision-making power. Drawing on European data and the EU legal framework, the presentation argues that existing advances in pay equality, work-life balance and gender balance on corporate boards are important but incomplete. Its main contribution is to propose three policy-oriented directions: improving the measurement of women’s leadership in less visible areas, especially SMEs and self-employment; recognising care as a social contribution that should not generate structural career disadvantages; and developing indicators capable of distinguishing numerical participation from effective power. In doing so, the presentation offers a timely contribution to debates on gender equality, work and the future of European social policy.
María Cruz Díaz de Terán
Associate Professor of Philosophy of Law, Universidad de Navarra (Spain)
Marta Rodriguez
Marta Rodriguez represents the Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (ISSD). She moderates Panel 1 and co-closes the seminar.
Marta Rodriguez
Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Spain)
Natalia Valenti
Natalia Valenti is Sales Specialist Manager for Artificial Intelligence Workforce at Microsoft Italy. She partners with executives on strategies to harness generative AI and modern productivity platforms.
Natalia Valenti
Sales Specialist Manager, AI Workforce, Microsoft (Italy)
Nora Ramos
Nora Ramos is a lawyer who spent decades at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, rising to Technical and Marketable Securities Manager. She now presides over UNTREF's credit rating agency, promoting sustainable and social bond markets in Argentina.
Nora Ramos
President, UNTREF Risk Rating Agency (Argentina)
Riccarda Zezza
Riccarda Zezza is an entrepreneur and researcher, founder and Scientific Director of Lifeed. In 2012 she launched the MAAM research project on motherhood and transferable leadership skills, and has since engaged over 70,000 people through the Lifeed platform.
Riccarda Zezza
Founder & Scientific Director, Lifeed (Italy)
Tea Trumbić
Tea Trumbić manages the Women, Business and the Law project at the World Bank, producing data on the laws shaping women's economic opportunities across 190 economies. She holds economics degrees from Stanford and the London School of Economics.
Tea Trumbić
Manager, Women, Business and the Law, World Bank (Croatia)
Ulrike Haider-Quercia
Ulrike Haider-Quercia is Professor of Comparative Public Law at Guglielmo Marconi University of Rome. Her research examines gender equality and the transformations of the world of work across European constitutional systems.
Ulrike Haider-Quercia
Professor of Comparative Public Law, Università G. Marconi Rome (Austria)
Vera Negri Zamagni
Vera Negri Zamagni is Professor of Economic History at the University of Bologna. Her research traces Italian economic development within its European context, and her books include Why Europe Changed the World, translated into English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Vera Negri Zamagni
Professor of Economic History, University of Bologna (Italy)
Vincenzo Bassi
Vincenzo Bassi is a lawyer, university lecturer, and author specializing in tax, corporate, and international law. He is President of FAFCE, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe.
Vincenzo Bassi
President, Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (Italy)
Agenda
Opening Remarks
Alejandra Segura (International Network of Women Leaders), Juan Manuel Segura (Creser Foundation), and Anita Cadavid (Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna) open the seminar.
Panel 1: Gender Equity at Workplace: Where Do We Stand?
- Vera Negri Zamagni, University of Bologna (Italy) - Agnieszka Piasna, European Trade Union Institute (Poland) - Luz María Sierra, El Colombiano (Colombia) Moderator: Marta Rodriguez, Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Spain)
Panel 2: Parenthood Support and Work–Life Balance
- Tea Trumbić, World Bank (Croatia) - Vincenzo Bassi, Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (Italy) - Joan C. Williams, Center for WorkLife Law (USA) Moderator: Adele Ercolano, Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Italy)
Panel 3: Workplace and Motherhood: Rethinking Productivity and Value
- Riccarda Zezza, Lifeed (Italy) - Begoña Rodríguez, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Spain) - María Caridad Araujo Moreno, Inter-American Development Bank (Ecuador) Moderator: María Cruz Díaz de Terán, Universidad de Navarra (Spain)
Panel 4: Skilling and Reskilling Women in a Changing Labor Market
- Andrea García Beltrán, Cyber Europe | Nirvana (Colombia) - Nora Ramos, UNTREF Risk Rating Agency (Argentina) - Natalia Valenti, Microsoft (Italy) Moderator: Anita Cadavid, Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Colombia)
Panel 5: Equal Opportunities or Gendered Penalties? Rethinking Difference in Contemporary Workplaces
- Marcella Mallen, ASviS (Italy) - Ulrike Haider-Quercia, Italian-Austrian Forum on Comparative Law, Università G. Marconi Rome (Austria) - Iris Bohnet, Harvard Kennedy School (USA) Moderator: Lara Bersano, International Network of Women Leaders (Argentina)
Panel 6: Challenges for Women and Work in Asia and Africa
- Emanuela Pozzan, International Labour Organization (Lebanon) - Astrid Lobo Gaijwala, Tissue Bank (India) - Brenda Akia, United Nations CEDAW Committee (Uganda) Moderator: Alice Bresolin, Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Brazil)
Panel 7: Leadership Pathways for Women in the Workplace
- María Cruz Díaz de Terán, Universidad de Navarra (Spain) - Catherine Hadechini, Foundever (Colombia/Peru) - Albertine Tshibilondi Ngoyi, Centre CEAF&RI – Centre d'Études Africaines et de Recherches Interculturelles (Congo/Belgium) Moderator: Adele Ercolano, Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna (Italy)
Concluding Remarks
Alejandra Segura (International Network of Women Leaders) and Marta Rodriguez (Istituto di Studi Superiori sulla Donna) close the seminar.