Ivana Ciabatti – Managing Director – Italpreziosi SPA
What does sustainability mean to you, and how does it link to Italpreziosi?
Sustainability is a path that I have undertaken for over 15 years and it represents a way of acting in a concrete way in everyday life, a path and an inner maturation. It is much easier to pronounce than to put it into practice.
Always, and especially in times of crisis such as that of 2020, I have made the sustainable path and humanistic capitalism the guide of my journey as an entrepreneur. With our sustainable strategy, I want to promote a more equitable and harmonious future, respectful of the environment, of the planet’s resources, of human dignity by enhancing education, training and awareness. I believe that sustainability is a social pact with future generations as with this path, in my small way, I want to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Why do you choose to work closely with RJC?
For me RJC represents an important roundtable where we can discuss and collaborate with all the stakeholders of the jewelry supply chain to create more transparent, equal and just businesses. I’m very proud of the job that the association is doing, especially the commitment to the SDGs, which is raising a strong awareness campaign on the importance of sustainability nowaday.
What makes SDG5 Gender Equality such an important and critical topic for you?
I’m a woman in a sector which has always been ruled by men. I believe there is still a lot of work to be done to solve the inequalities, and the first thing to do is act concretely. In a year where 70% of the people who lost their jobs were women, Italpreziosi has hired them. In a year where social well-being has declined, Italpreziosi has supported even more initiatives to combat it both inside and outside the company.
We as women must be more united and cohesive, to help each other, which in my role I try to do and transmit everyday with humility.
I believe in the strength and capacity of women who, in force of their own characteristics, different from men, can contribute in a concrete way to the growth of GDP in their country. I am also convinced that in countries where there are women in power there will be more peace.
Can you tell us some more about your ambitious work on gender equality?
I have always been at the forefront to support initiatives that enhance women’s rights, their potential, their genius and above all initiatives against the violence against them.
For me working towards gender equality and empowerment means to act not only within our everyday lives and our businesses but also participating actively in roundtables to dialogue and give added value bringing our experience.
That is why I believe associations like RJC are crucial. I’m also a member of:
- Women in Mining UK, which involves women in the mining industry from around the world.
- Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), is an initiative of UN Women and UN Global Compact and consists of a set of principles that offer guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in the workplace, on the market and in the community.
- As Italpreziosi, we support the He for She initiative, a UN Women project that invites men to join to support gender equality. We campaigned internally to invite our employees to join.
In 2020 we carried out various internal campaigns to increase awareness of the existence of a dramatic phenomenon, namely domestic violence. In a period of great difficulty due to Covid19, with the imposition of the lockdown, many people may have found themselves trapped in their homes. We therefore invited everyone to be sensitive to the issue and to support people who could be subject to it, also giving information on the services that work every day in order to support them 24 hours a day.
Every year we also support the initiative Women for Women Against Violence Camomile Award, where courageous women are rewarded for their courage in fighting this violence, sharing their own experiences that inspire other women.
I am very active locally being president of the Peace Entrepreneurs of Rondine Cittadella della Pace, an association close to women from all over the world. In the past I also promoted the “Premio Internazionale Semplicemente Donna”.
As mentioned, acting is a concrete answer to the issue. In line with the SDGs, we have always tried to create equal opportunities and employ women, starting with our team: from being 35% in 2015, today women represent 45% of our workforce.
In 2020 we also signed the “OECD Stakeholder Statement on Implementing Gender-Responsive Due Diligence and ensuring the human rights of women in Mineral Supply Chains”, through Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM). The objective is to create more awareness on the issue of gender equality through:
- The request for information relating to women (number and role) within the companies we work with.
- The participation of working groups and projects developed in the supply chain which also provide for the support of miners from small communities, in partnership with public and private sector actors.
- Raising awareness of the issue through training and information campaigns and initiatives in the supply chain.
