Gender equality is the fifth of the 17 sustainable development goals identified in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030. Gender equality and female empowerment are at the centre of public debate worldwide. They also represent priority targets for Leonardo and are an integral part of the company’s vision of sustainability.

In this context, Leonardo’s commitment has been recognised by the company’s recent inclusion, for the second successive year, in the 2022 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. This is an index of listed companies measuring specific parameters ranging from female leadership to talent pipeline, from equal pay and gender pay parity to an inclusive culture, from sexual harassment policies to being recognised as a pro-women brand.

Antonio Liotti - Chief People & Organization Officer - Leonardo

Leonardo views diversity and inclusion as distinguishing factors in promoting competitiveness and innovation. The goal is to help all people to reach their full potential, making the most of each person’s distinctive qualities.

The company is pursuing this goal through a range of tangible measures. These include managerial training programmes aimed at promoting an increasingly inclusive leadership model, initiatives aimed at recognising and analysing gender bias, as well as highly personalised pathways for empowerment and professional development. Additionally, there are projects to promote women with STEM profiles as role models to inspire the next generation and new ways of organising work to improve work-life balance.

Leonardo has also adopted a remuneration policy aimed at achieving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets such as hiring women with Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) profiles.

Renata Mele - Senior Vice President Sustainability - Leonardo.

Female manager, leadership and women in STEM: the statistics speak

Leonardo’s Sustainability Plan includes measurable actions specifically dedicated to improving gender equality, with activities that will bring benefits in the short to medium term as well as ‘transformative’ initiatives that will produce an impact in the medium to long term.

This approach is reinforced by training and orientation programmes, beginning in the educational system – at both schools and universities – to encourage not only women but young people in general to enter STEM professions, and by initiatives promoting increasingly inclusive cultural and organisational models to make the most of people’s potential and to avoid all forms of prejudice.