FLORENCE, Italy, Oct. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The seventh edition was organised by the banking group in collaboration with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation

The first concluding event of the Women Value Company Intesa Sanpaolo award, organised by the banking group in collaboration with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, took place at Palazzo Incontri in Florence. This initiative, now in its seventh edition, is recognised as a special category of the Marisa Bellisario Award and is dedicated to promoting female entrepreneurship and companies that invest in gender equality and corporate welfare.

“This award stands for Intesa Sanpaolo’s commitment to businesses in general, and specifically to female-led businesses,” explains Anna Roscio, Head of Corporate Sales & Marketing at Intesa Sanpaolo. “This marks the seventh edition of a recognition program that, over seven years, has seen the participation of five thousand companies. Today, we embark on a tour across the region and will award 35 out of the 100 companies that will be awarded this year. It is a program designed to complement the bank’s role in providing credit by highlighting the best business success stories.”

“The issue of female entrepreneurship is crucial in our country. Female employment is about 13 points lower than the European average,” adds Virginia Borla, Head of Business Governance, Banca dei Territori Division at Intesa Sanpaolo. “The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is key to rebalancing and providing opportunities to half of the country that does not have the same opportunities we want them to have. For this reason, Intesa Sanpaolo is adding one billion in financing for female-led businesses. I do not believe there is a single solution, but it is certainly essential to combine multiple elements so that, together, they enable every individual to reach their full potential. We want to convey a message about the importance and relevance of women’s impact within companies. Female-led businesses are not just businesses led by women, but rather businesses working to enable everyone to express themselves. Welfare, innovation, digitalisation, with the ability to work against diversity and in favour of inclusion.”

The businesses participating in this edition of the Women Value Company award have shown a strong commitment to employee development through a diverse range of initiatives, with training and work-life balance at the top of the list. Female-led businesses stand out for their adoption of these initiatives. Attention to human capital and sustainability emerge as closely connected elements: companies with a more advanced human capital management profile are more inclined to invest in sustainability. Companies with a higher focus on these issues have recorded better growth in turnover and labour productivity in recent years, demonstrating that human capital and well-being are increasingly becoming a strategic winning factor.

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A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e7699cc-e14f-4b1e-ab04-353d18a4813e