Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: the perspective of Italian companies

What factors drive Italian companies today to commit to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, inside and outside their organizations? Through what practices and initiatives do they concretize this commitment and how do they communicate them to their employees and other stakeholders? And what positive outcomes or critical issues have emerged as a result of the initiatives undertaken? These questions were the starting point for an exploratory study by the Centre for Employee Relations and Communication (CERC) at IULM University, the results of which will be presented on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. as part of the panel discussion "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: state of the art and perspectives for Italian companies." The event will take place in Room 146, IULM Building 6 (Via Carlo Bo 7) and is part of the educational program of the MICRI Master 's program. It will also be possible to participate in the event remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Participation in the in-person event is free of charge and open to all IULM students and the external public by registering at the following link, subject to availability of seats in the room. To follow the event remotely, it is also necessary to register at the same link, so you will receive all the directions to connect to the videoconference.
The exploratory research at the center of the meeting was carried out by CERC's Working Group Employee Communication 2022-2024 between September and October 2022 and was based on 4 focus groups and 2 interviews that involved a total of 21 managers responsible for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policies and/or internal communication in 13 Italian companies.
In its previous name of Internal Communication Laboratory, CERC had carried out research on these issues back in 2010, which led to outlining for the first time a picture of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policies in Italy. Years later, CERC undertook this new study noting a renewed need for knowledge in this area, at a time when the topic is on the agendas of most companies in Italy.

The study will continue in the coming months with a quantitative survey aimed at an expanded sample of Italian companies, counting on the collaboration of Global Inclusion, a committee active in promoting social change in the direction of inclusion for the full realization of the principles of Article 3 of the Italian Constitution. The objective of this second phase of the study is to outline again the state of the art of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policies in Italian companies, more than 10 years after the previous survey.

CERC is the research center of IULM University focused on the issues of employee relations and communication and operates with the aim of developing and disseminating culture in this area. It conducts research, dissemination, training and commissioned projects, with a perspective of confrontation between the academic and corporate worlds, and is supported by an international scientific committee that ensures its connection with the main international centers of excellence.

The Working Group Employee Communication is a two-year CERC special project in partnership with a limited group of companies. In the two-year period 2022-2024, the Working Group Employee Communication is composed of: Campari Group, Cromology Italia, E.ON, Edison, Eni, Gruppo Unipol, Italgas, MM, Sanofi, Sella, Snam, Takeda, Unicoop Firenze, Vodafone Italia and Whirlpool EMEA.

Click here to download the event poster.

Click here to register for the event.