PWA International Women’s Day Annual Dinner

Quirinale Hotel
Via Nazionale 7, Rome RM
Wednesday, March 6th, 2024 at 7.00 PM
PWA International Women’s Day Annual Dinner

The Professional Women’s Association (PWA) International Women’s Day Annual Dinner (IWD) stands as a celebration event, a tribute to the remarkable social, economic, cultural, and professional accomplishments of women. It is proudly organized by the Professional Women’s Association (PWA), with the invaluable support of G7 Italy W7, G20 Italy W20, NoiD Telecom, InclusioneDonna, WIN, and G100 Mission.

This occasion offers a splendid opportunity to celebrate, foster meaningful connections, and ignite inspiration among women who serve as trailblazers and catalysts for change, reshaping the landscape of purpose and inclusive leadership.

It is designed to share a convivial evening accompanied by a pianist during the pre-cocktail networking, seated dinner, and speakers to testify about an exceptional community of women in Italy who are at the forefront of advocating for equitable pathways.

The theme for this year, ‘InspireHER InspireInclusion: Accelerating Change in Gender Equality’. PWA’s theme draws inspiration from the UN Women IWD theme, ‘Count Her In: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment’, aligning seamlessly with the IWD 2024 campaign theme, #InspireInclusion.

Our esteemed speakers, distinguished leaders, and innovators in their respective fields, will delve into the pivotal role of economic empowerment in shaping a gender-equal world. They will reflect on the progress achieved thus far and contemplate the journey ahead to ensure gender equality permeates the workplace and extends beyond. Prepare to be inspired by our accomplished speakers and role models!

Let’s #InspireInclusion and #InspireHER together to shape a future where leadership knows no gender boundaries!

AGENDA
19.00 – 20.00 Pre-cocktail Networking
20.00 – 23.00 Seated Dinner and Testimonies
Opening Speech
Gerlie Saura,
President – PWA & Italy Country Chair – G100 Mission Education
Speakers Testimonials
Milena Lerario,
Managing Director of Airbus Italy
Gladys H. Morales,
Global Head of Innovation – U.N. IFAD
Linda Laura Sabbadini,
Director – ISTAT & Chair – G20 Italy W20
Martina Rogato,
Co-Chair – G7- Women7
Benedetta Paravia,
Vice President and Ambassador of A.N.G.E.L.S.
– National Association of Great Energies Leading Solidarity
Cristina Carollo,
President – NoiD Telecom

Hosts:
Barbara Pepponi,
PWA Board Member and Non-Life Director at Groupama Assicurazioni
Catherine Tondelli,
VP & Program Director PWA

Please find the speaker’s information along with the registration link below.

Speakers

Gladys H. Morales, Global Head of Innovation at United Nations – IFAD

Gladys H. Morales is Global Head of Innovation at IFAD.
She leads the design and implementation of innovation initiatives and partnerships that positively impact poor rural people. She is also the Regional Ambassador in Italy of the Global Blockchain Business Council.

Prior to joining IFAD, Morales led digital transformation in Multilateral Development Banks and United Nations agencies’ projects in Latin America, Asia and Europe. She worked for the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China where she led the design of digital platforms and established the Global Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth Portal. She was also part of the management team for a digital advertising startup in Indonesia and founded her own startup in Italy.

Morales is a graduate from the Executive Program on Digital Business Leadership at Columbia Business School. She has a Master of Science in Development Economics and International Cooperation from University of Rome, Tor Vergata, and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and International Economics from Georgetown University.

Morales is also an active PWA Member and conference speaker.

Milena Lerario, Managing Director of AIRBUS Italy

Milena Lerario is the Managing Director of Airbus Italia since April 2022, aiming to reinforce the company’s position as a key player in the Italian space industry. She officially began working for Airbus in 2012 in Germany, in the engineering department, where she participated in the repair campaign for the vertical tail plane of the A380; Lerario then moved on to manufacturing and certification of the wings for the A350 between Germany, France and England. Over the years she has worked in management roles in different functions, from Corporate Audit to Human Resources, in different Group locations in Germany, France, England and Spain. In Madrid, she served as Head of Spacecraft Plants Production at national level, implementing a transformation and optimization of the industrial processes of the plants towards greater innovation and digitalization.

A graduate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa, she holds a Master in Business Economics from Bocconi.

Her strategic leadership has significantly contributed to Airbus’s success in the aerospace industry.

Martina Rogato, Co-Chair of G7 Italy – Women7

Martina Rogato is Co-Chair – G7- Women7.
She is a sustainability Consultant with + 10 years experience, she works as a contract Professor at LUMSA and Ilsole24ore Business School teaching on sustainability and reporting.

Martina is a Women rights activist, Co-Founder at Young Women Network, and Sherpa at Women20 Italy, the official G20 Engagement Group on women’s empowerment.

She is an eloquent Tedx speaker and nominated among 1000 women that are changing Italy with her social activism by Start-up Italia.

Gerlie Saura, President PWA and Country Chair Italy G100 Education & Employment,

Gerlie Saura is the incumbent elected PWA President, she led the PWA successfully during a tough pandemic-driven digital transformation. Since then the PWA’s core activities have focused on empowering women to thrive through continual transformation. She’s been a Board Member for over 10 years covering various leadership roles since 2012. Moreover, since 2021 she has been specially appointed as the Country Chair Italy of G100 Education and Employment (WEFitaly) think tank as a diversity, equity, inclusion, education, and advocate employment.

She’s an experienced International Business Development Manager. As a Senior Manager with over 15+ years of international experience, she represents the Rome Business School to establish and maintain strategic partnerships and international relations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

She was honored to win the “Woman of the Year 2020 Award”. With PWA she will continue her mission to support women in their professional development and supports strategic partnerships that promote women’s economic empowerment, lifelong learning, and equal access to employment opportunities.

Linda Laura Sabbadini, Director of ISTAT & Chairwoman, G20 Italy W20

Linda Laura Sabbadini is ISTAT’s Central Director, she has been responsible for numerous ISTAT research projects in the fields of social and gender analysis and survey methodology.
She also led the process of renewing social and gender official statistics, giving visibility to invisible people in statistics, such as women children, elderly people, homeless, measuring phenomena such as violence against women, discrimination for sexual orientation, poverty, corruption, mobbing at work.

She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications, and columnist at La Stampa and La Repubblica newspapers. At the national level, she directed the process of building fair and sustainable well-being indicators. She also is composed of many UN, Eurostat, and OECD high-level groups. With her expertise, she participated in the National Equality Commission, and in 2020, she was appointed by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the Committee of Economic and Social experts engaged in the post-pandemic recovery.

In 2015, she was included among the “100 Italian Excellence”. And in 2006, she has been nominated Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for the verge innovative role in official statistics.

At the international level, she was a member of the Steering Group on Social Statistics of the UN UNECE and was a member of strategic task forces of the directors of Eurostat Social Statistics.

She has participated numerous times in the UN Commission of the Status of Women as a member of the government delegation. Since 2007, she is a member of the UN Interagency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics.

In 2017, she participated in the G7 of women and she edited the statistical part of G7 2017 in Taormina. Since 2020, she is the W20 Chair for the G20 Italian Presidency 2021.

Benedetta Paravia, Vice President and Ambassador of A.N.G.E.L.S. – National Association of Great Energies Leading Solidarity

Multifaceted artist, author, creative producer and philanthropist Benedetta Paravia aka Princess Bee works between Italy and the United Arab Emirates, creating a bridge between the Middle East and Europe through culture, university education, songs (including one for peace, “Angels”, which was endorsed by UNESCO, the Holy See and received a medal of merit from the late Italian President Giorgio Napolitano), books, television and cross-media programs for women, catwalks, art exhibitions and solidarity.

She is Vice President and Ambassador of A.N.G.E.L.S. – National Association of Great Energies Leading Solidarity – ONLUS with which she has been working since 2008 to save sick children from war zones and protect human rights. A year ago she launched her artistic-cultural-humanitarian project “Women in Love” against the crime of the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): video art that emphasizes the ecstasy and strength of female nature against the crime of violence.

In March 2023 she launched an “inclusive” mini collection by Princess Bee in Yamamay stores, dedicated to the color of every woman’s skin. She collaborates as a journalist with La Repubblica, RepTV, il Borghese and Gli Italiani. She was recently threatened by a fugitive following her investigation into the lives of Italian fugitives in Dubai published on La Repubblica.

Cristina Carollo, President of NoiD Telecom

Experienced manager in Telcos and Digital Transformation, Cristina Carollo has a degree in Economics from the Alma Mater University of Bologna and over the years has covered different roles in TIM both for its participating companies abroad (Europe and Latin America), and in the domestic perimeter.

Currently responsible for Planning & Monitoring in the Enterprise and Innovative Solutions division of TIM and is a Board Member in Olivetti.

In 2016 she was nominated President of NoiD Telecom, the association that brings together the company’s managers, directors, and employees, especially women.

She leads the strategic vision and mission of the association, focusing on the valorization of women’s talents and the reduction of the gender gap both in careers progression and salaries.

Over the years the Association has became an influencer in gender gap issues, with remarkable progresses in its enviroment through a constant activity of dialogue and benchmarking.

But it is still a long way to gender equality…

Event Information

Conference Venue: Quirinale Hotel
Address: Via Nazionale 7, Rome
Dress code: Business attire
Wednesday, March 6th 2024, 7 PM

PARTICIPANT’S FEE
Pre-cocktail networking with Pianist Fausto Mezzana
Seated Dinner
NoiD Members: 50 euros
Guests and Friends: 60 euros
PWA Members: 30 euros (Part of the dinner fee is covered by PWA)

Kindly note that space is limited and participation is by prepayment only.