{"id":379,"date":"2025-01-20T17:21:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T17:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/a-paradigm-shift-for-a-culture-of-equity-and-inclusion\/"},"modified":"2025-02-22T13:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T13:18:30","slug":"a-paradigm-shift-for-a-culture-of-equity-and-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/a-paradigm-shift-for-a-culture-of-equity-and-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Paradigm Shift for a Culture of Equity and Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

I finally understand why the world of venture capital both attracts and repels me at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was at a beautiful event, surrounded\u2014roughly speaking\u2014by <\/span>85% men<\/b>, when I decided to approach a well-respected figure in the field and point out how unacceptable it was that his organization had so little gender diversity. His response was predictable: <\/span>It\u2019s a complex issue. We\u2019ve tried. My team is actually gender-balanced, but unfortunately, there just aren\u2019t many women in this sector!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know why, but he then asked me what I did for a living. Was he looking for another woman to add to his numbers? My friends would call this a typical <\/span>Silvia<\/span><\/i> moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the audience was my friend F., the same person who, just a week earlier, had taken me to a women-only event. The atmosphere there was entirely different, yet still heavy, like the storm clouds hanging over these rainy days\u2014charged, ominous, but far from serene.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. has this <\/span>perpetually alert look<\/b>, one I know all too well because I carried it for years myself. The problem with being a woman in predominantly male environments is that you either <\/span>align yourself with those who hold power\u2014the men\u2014or you disappear<\/b>. Without realizing it, you grow accustomed to being constantly surrounded by men, always questioning whether you are being treated as an equal or as some kind of <\/span>trophy<\/b>\u2014<\/span>the competent one<\/span><\/i> (which is just another version of <\/span>the attractive one<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. is <\/span>the competent one<\/span><\/i>. In fact, she\u2019s the most competent of all. But I\u2019m increasingly convinced that all this competence, if it only serves others, is worth very little if it weighs on our emotional state.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Being good at what we do is not enough. We also need <\/span>power<\/b>\u2014and F. has finally reached that level. I\u2019m proud of her. Maybe, in time, she will even be able to let go of that anxious expression. I hope so. But what does she still need to do so?<\/span><\/p>\n

    The problem of <\/span>women in leadership in Italy<\/b>\u2014a country suffocated by <\/span>paternalism<\/b>, which rears its head in the most unexpected places\u2014is the <\/span>lack of breathing space it creates<\/b>. The issue isn\u2019t just about F.; it\u2019s about all of us.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The opposite of F.\u2019s gaze is the quiet resignation of another friend, D., who seems to have <\/span>accepted her position<\/b>\u2014whether with <\/span>contentment or submission<\/b>, I\u2019m not yet sure. She sits on her perch, silent. In both cases, I sense the same posture: <\/span>waiting<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A Shift in Perspective<\/b><\/p>\n

    What reassures me is recalling a dinner party at the home of my Parisian friend Anne, celebrating her partner Cl\u00e9ment\u2019s birthday. She had prepared small tartines, and beside me sat a Frenchman telling an amusing story about <\/span>how, in the Seine, they don\u2019t fish for fish, but for bicycles<\/b>\u2014and all the other objects resting on the riverbed, retrieved with large magnets.<\/span><\/p>\n

    At the end of his story, he turned to me and asked about Italy. My answer was the same as always: <\/span>Italy is a difficult place for women.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    Without hesitation, and like many French people I\u2019ve spoken to, he understood immediately. <\/span>Le machisme est tr\u00e8s grave en Italie<\/span><\/i>, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So, <\/span>everyone knows it<\/b>. Everyone, that is, except <\/span>Italians<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    And I keep counting the days until I set foot again in a place where <\/span>people grasp these things without too much effort<\/b>. That day will come when I land at Charles de Gaulle next month.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Fishing for Change<\/b><\/p>\n

    In the meantime, I continue to <\/span>fish with my magnet<\/b>, pulling from the depths <\/span>everything that has been left to sink in the riverbed<\/b>. I lay out my discoveries before my neighbors\u2014a <\/span>bicycle<\/b>, to escape faster from those trying to box me into a frame that doesn\u2019t fit me; <\/span>a giant pair of scissors<\/b>, to cut through prejudice; <\/span>a pair of glasses<\/b>, to widen perspectives on social dynamics.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Nothing extraordinary, really. But who knows what else might be down there? Maybe even <\/span>a monster<\/b>?<\/span><\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve come to believe that <\/span>freedom is the only real achievement we should strive for<\/b>, even when society tells us that <\/span>being good at what we do<\/span><\/i> is what truly matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Frankly, I\u2019m tired of it. Because <\/span>being good will never be enough<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What we really need is the <\/span>look of recognition from a friend, or even a stranger<\/b>, who understands just how hard it is. Maybe what we need is <\/span>a French perspective<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    And if I have to keep fishing for a while longer, so be it. I will be patient. I will hold on to a little hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Maybe, one day, something unexpected will emerge from the depths of Italian culture\u2014something strange and amusing, like the creatures in <\/span>Monsters, Inc.<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Looking Toward the Future<\/b><\/p>\n

    One last thought for what lies at the bottom of the Seine, which, incidentally, <\/span>may soon become swimmable<\/b> thanks to a <\/span>\u20ac1.4 billion cleanup project<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So, see you <\/span>in the water by 2024<\/b>, hopefully in a world where equity feels more natural, more obvious.<\/span><\/p>\n

    And who knows? Maybe we\u2019ll even look back and miss these days, when we were still fighting, still resisting. Because <\/span>these, too, are moments of great energy and alliance<\/b>\u2014at least between me, D., and F.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I finally understand why the world of venture capital both attracts and repels me at the same time….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[62,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-lab-en","8":"tag-equita-en","9":"tag-inclusione-en"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":381,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions\/381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silviamanduchi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}