"Another generation of women will have to wait for gender equality," according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021. "While the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt, the closure of the global gender gap has increased by one generation, from 99,5 years to 135,6 years". If Switzerland occupies a good position in the ranking of the Gender Gap Report 2021, in tenth place, as regards women with leadership roles we are still behind, with a twenty-sixth place out of the total of 29 nations analyzed by The Economist to draw up the Glass Ceiling Index 2021.
These results do not demoralize the women of the associations present in Ticino, but rather act as an incentive to evolve towards an equal society by activating virtuous circles of sisterhood. A word, coined 50 years ago by Kate Millet, writer and feminist activist, which brings with it a clear and strong idea. Speaking for the first time about sisterhhood, when the word brotherhood or brotherhood was used as early as 1250, the writer and feminist activist wanted to sow the intention of obtaining a social union between women without differences of class, religion or ethnic groups. From the beginning, the seed of sisterhood brings with it a push towards inclusive social cohesion, declined in the feminine, seen as a real social, ethical and emotional pact built between women. A pact that pushes to prefer alliance over competition, trust in mistrust, sharing in individualism. An aspect that unites the organizations we met is the value of the group, of the pooling of resources and knowledge, with the awareness that it is the union that reinforces social change. The directors of the associations we met teach us an active, positive and evolutionary sisterhood. A female solidarity that leads to confront, join forces and support each other along the way.
“Our deepest fear is not that of being inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond all measure. It is our light, not our darkness that scares us the most. We ask ourselves: who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? ”: These are the famous words of Marianne Williamson, bestselling author, activist and presidential candidate in the United States in 2020, who call for men and women to be free from oppression. Today we no longer speak of struggle and opposition between the male pole and the female pole but rather of moving towards equilibrium, an equal meeting point, where sisterhood and brotherhood can manifest and support each other in full mutual respect.
Elena Bittante, President of Soroptimist International Lugano
Soroptimist International, the largest women's organization in the world, was born in Oakland in 1921, 100 years ago, and already in 1930 the first Geneva office was established. In Ticino the first Club was founded in Lugano in 1977, with the fundamental contribution of Marie Jeanne Bosia; subsequently Locarno (1980), Mendrisiotto (1989) and Bellinzona e Valli (1994) were born. Politically neutral and non-denominational, it carries out its activity in 125 countries with 3000 clubs (61 in Switzerland) and 80.000 members (around 1900 in Switzerland). Among its objectives, the universal recognition of human rights, sustainable development and the promotion of the role of women in society. Soroptimist International promotes volunteering and launches projects so that women around the world can realize their aspirations.
Who is currently part of Ticino Soroptimist?
"Soroptimist members are women who are active in society, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs, but also women who are starting their profession or who continue to contribute to social development after the end of their career".
What led you to the presidential role?
«Every two years the Club changes the President and the Committee, and thus renews the points of view and the intervention projects. It is precisely the spirit of keeping the Club alive and contributing with unique and different skills to social interventions that led me to accept the Presidency; the idea is to cultivate a heritage of friendship and ability to intervene, make it grow and hand it over after two years for a further phase of growth ».
What was your career path?
«After a career in McKinsey and in the financial sector, today I am advisor on issues related to sustainability, helping companies to find solutions for improving the climate impact and social inclusion, after having identified specific strategic priorities. In Ticino I also co-founded an innovative start-up - TicInsect - which produces meal for animals through the soldier fly insect, in a circular economy process that starts with food waste ».
What is the importance of solidarity and sisterhood in freeing the rights achieved and in moving towards new goals?
"Solidarity between women remains important, both for mutual encouragement and for getting to know other realities: one can truly enter the world of work and society if one does not remain isolated in one's unique life experience. Intergenerational dialogue is also very important: the rights achieved can be taken for granted, which instead fade with every economic-social crisis, as in this phase of a pandemic. We must cyclically start fighting again for the right to work and career, to protect motherhood, to demand that the effort of supporting the elderly does not fall only on the shoulders of women. In this, young women bring energy and courage, mature women bring clarity of vision and goals ».
In which areas do we still have to fight for equality?
“In Europe we have made great strides in the recognition of rights, I am thinking for example of the right to have a say in the growth of minors, with the overcoming of the fatherland mayor. Unfortunately, the fatigue of care work still weighs heavily on women. In Ticino a traditional social model remains and the difficulty for single-parent families is great. Soroptimist will finance the Single Parenting at School project, a practical tool for teachers who relate to children experiencing separation and single parenthood. In Ticino, female start-ups are rare as well as the presence of women in the leading roles of companies. Soroptimist's open conferences give space to the many innovative contributions of women, especially from the scientific-university world, from the study of sex and gender medicine to the use of big data. Soroptomist is also active in raising awareness of new media threats such as romantic scams, cyberbullying and sexting. Together with specialists we have created material available to teachers to raise awareness among young people on issues such as bullying, inner discomfort, relationships with the other sex ».
The future is in the hands of the young people… what do you do to support them?
"To raise funds for the scholarships of students of the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland, the initiative" The Wine of Solidarity "is active: the sale of fine wines selected by two Soroptimist friends who are professional in the sector, Lisetta Lucchini of Fattoria Moncucchetto and Nerida Deganis, to be enjoyed directly or given as a gift, to be in solidarity with taste. Those interested in these quality wines can contact VinoSoropLugano@gmail.com.
Anca Cefan Robbiani, President of Zonta International
Zonta International is a worldwide service organization made up of people initially only women, which since 1919 has been working to foster understanding between peoples, promote world peace and improve the condition of women through four key values: friendship, freedom. , respect and education. Non-partisan and non-denominational, it boasts consultative status at the UN since 1946, in particular at ECOSOC, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, ILO. It also has participatory status with the Council of Europe, maintains active relationships with UNESCO and has representatives at the UN headquarters in Geneva, New York, Paris and Vienna. There are approximately 30.000 members, members of more than 1150 Zonta Clubs in 64 countries and geographical areas, divided into 32 districts and geographical areas.
What world does the Zonta International woman dream of living in?
«In a world where women's rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to reach her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making processes on an equal footing with men. In such a world, no woman lives in fear of violence ”.
What motivates the organization since its foundation?
«Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, United States, Zonta means in the Sioux language 'honest and trustworthy'. In the history of Zonta International, the improvement of the condition of women, in the political, legal, professional and in all other aspects of life, has been a motivating push. Zonta International is realizing this ideal, so that women can not only achieve their own personal goals, but improve the conditions of other women around the world. Since 1985, through the Zonta International Foundation, it has given millions of dollars in grants to international programs and projects around the world. Foundation grants are made possible through voluntary contributions from Zonta clubs, members and friends of Zonta. "
The Ticino history of Zonta International ...
«The Lugano Club was born in 1964, shortly before the acquisition of the right to vote for women on the initiative of nineteen Lugano women in order to improve the condition of women on a professional level, but not only. The first president was Ersilia Fossati, teacher, who worked in favor of women's suffrage and was among the first women to enter the Grand Council (for the PPD). Today the club has twenty-five active members from different professional areas: university, school, health care, and law ».
How do you judge the condition of women in Ticino today?
"A statistical picture of equal opportunities between the sexes in Ticino tells us that, as far as training is concerned, although women are often more educated, there are still evident problems such as wage disparity and the difficulty in accessing roles of responsibility or direction. Furthermore, women are more affected by domestic violence ”.
Zonta recognizes the importance of education as a form of emancipation ...
“Through the Zonta Club Lugano Foundation, 20 scholarships worth 114 CHF have been awarded in 4000 years, for a total of 456 CHF. The president of the Foundation is currently Dr. Vitoria Espelli. This data is very significant as she made me understand how much we can do for women to achieve their personal goals and it is one of the reasons that led me to want to join the club in 000, but not only. We also care about the promotion among the girls of the professions in the fields of mathematics, information technology and technology. In this regard, with our patronage, the “coding club for girls” was held in Lugano with programming workshops for girls between 2019 and 11 years old, in collaboration with the Federal Polytechnic of Lausanne (EPFL). Finally, we contribute substantially to the international projects of the Zonta Foundation for women and in particular Ending Child Marriage, Let us learn Madagascar and Empowering girl through education. Our main activities mainly concern fundraising. We have been collaborating for several years with the dialect theater company Il Grappolo di Tenero and the director Daria Contesi ».
How did you choose to become its president?
“I am a middle school teacher and I accepted this position because I want to be actively involved in the club. I have been president for a few months and on the day of my election I was moved by the fact that the members of the club had decided to give me this important position. Theirs was a vote of great confidence and I sincerely hope not to disappoint their expectations. Fortunately, my role is supported by a committee of very good women with whom I am thrilled to collaborate ».
