What happens when a woman is not only a woman, but also young, foreign, disabled, or a single mother?
The risk of discrimination multiplies. This principle, known as intersectionality, is at the core of SPEED-FEM, a European project focused on supporting women who face overlapping and systemic forms of exclusion and inequality in the workplace.
Cooperation across borders: Italy and Greece at the heart of the project
The SPEED-FEM project, born from the collaboration between Fondazione Sodalitas, Fondazione Libellula, and Soleterre for Italy, and KEAN and D&I for Greece, focuses on women facing intersectional discrimination in the workplace. It is carried out in Italy and Greece, two of the European countries that rank lowest in gender equality in employment.
The initiative is funded by the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, aiming to foster a more inclusive work environment by tackling systemic and overlapping inequalities that affect women based on gender, origin, age, disability, or family status.
Change begins within companies
SPEED-FEM promotes concrete actions by engaging businesses, training managers, and creating spaces for mutual learning and empowerment. The project involved capacity-building sessions, knowledge exchanges, mentoring, and the sharing of best practices from companies willing to act as agents of inclusion.
Some highlighted examples include:
- A2A (Life Company) in the energy and environment sector launched initiatives such as Life Caring for parenthood support, a Gender Transition Policy, and cross-cultural awareness programs—showing that inclusion can be built on multiple levels: time, financial backing, and cultural understanding.
- BOTTA EcoPackaging, a family-run sustainable packaging company, activated inclusion pathways for foreign women, including mentoring and internships for international students—turning interculturality into a strategic innovation lever.
- ENGIE Italia embraced second-chance employment: the Fenix Project supported the reintegration of a woman after incarceration, with professional training, psychological support, and team awareness activities.
- SKY Italia, through its Women@Sky network, transformed informal gatherings into forums of collective empowerment, tackling taboo subjects such as menopause, gender-based violence, and parenthood, and also developing inclusive tools such as dubby.it for gender-neutral language.
- Vodafone, with projects like Talk and Rainbow Corner, created safe spaces to speak about LGBT+ identity and inclusion, involving leadership figures and normalizing these conversations in professional and family contexts.
The full version of Speed-fem Collection.
Intersectionality: acknowledging to include
SPEED-FEM makes one thing clear: it’s not enough to talk about “women” in general. The experience of a migrant woman is not the same as that of a middle-class executive; the obstacles faced by a mother differ from those encountered by a young LGBTQ+ employee. Recognizing this intersectionality—between gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status—is key to designing inclusive strategies that don’t leave behind those most at risk of discrimination.
To turn theory into action, the project developed interactive tools for companies, training programs, and exchanges between businesses and civil society organizations—ensuring that intersectionality becomes a practical driver of inclusion.
Social and economic benefits
Intersectional inclusion doesn’t only have social value—it brings economic benefits too. According to various European studies, inclusive companies are more innovative, better at attracting and retaining talent, and tend to have higher employee satisfaction and stronger reputations.
As Fondazione Sodalitas states: “Diversity is a fact. Inclusion is an act.” Today, more than ever, companies that act on this principle are helping to build a better, fairer future.
From best practices to structural change
SPEED-FEM is not just a project—it’s a replicable model. It demonstrates that real inclusion begins with listening, identifying invisible barriers, and designing tailored strategies—whether they involve parenthood, gender identity, cultural background, or personal hardship. Every company has the opportunity to turn social challenges into sustainable innovation.
Because social sustainability is shaped by how we work, who we include, and how we empower all forms of diversity.
