The Lombardy Region Council has recently approved, thanks to the proposal by the Councillor for Education, Training, and Employment, Simona Tironi, an update to the guidelines for the support measure aimed at local businesses seeking to obtain gender equality certification during the 2025-2027 period. This initiative is part of the regional program under the European Social Fund Plus 2021-2027 and includes the public notice ‘Towards Gender Equality Certification,’ featuring significant innovations such as a centralized procedure for selecting consulting service providers and an increase in the maximum value of vouchers for micro-enterprises up to 2,500 euros.
Councillor Tironi emphasized the Region’s commitment to addressing the wage and employment gap between men and women, noting that Lombardy has been a pioneer in Italy in introducing this tool. The previous edition of the call for proposals saw considerable interest from Lombard companies, with 985 applications submitted, primarily from businesses headquartered in Milan, Brescia, and Bergamo. The ‘Wholesale Trade’ sector recorded the highest number of applications, highlighting the importance of certification in promoting inclusive and meritocratic corporate policies.
