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9th Ipazia Workshop on Gender Issue

SHAPING TOMORROW: GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

Department of Law and Economics Productive Activities

Sapienza University of Rome – Italy

19 April 2024

The Ipazia Scientific Observatory on Gender Issues is delighted to announce the upcoming event placed around the theme “Shaping Tomorrow: Gender Perspectives in a Sustainable World”. Ipazia Observatory was founded to outline interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and updated research, services, and projects related to women and gender issues at the local, national, and international levels. Each year the Ipazia Observatory launches a call for a workshop to trigger a national and international debate on the most current and challenging topics on gender issues. The vision of the workshops is to project the present into the future. 

 

The 9th Workshop on Gender Issues is to explore the inherent connection between sustainable development and gender equality (Paoloni et al., 2023; Paoloni and Cosentino, 2023). The purpose of this call is to analyze the complex interconnection of gender and sustainability, bringing attention to the vital role these factors play in shaping a future that is both fair and sustainable. In the face of urgent challenges such as climate change and worsening inequalities, there is a strong imperative to reformulate existing paths in the gender field.

The increase in inequalities are urgent challenges that highlight the crucial need to reformulate strategies. This approach, shaped by the principles of sustainable development, is essential for addressing policies and practices within every dimension of private and public organisations (Calderón Márquez et al., 2019).

 

The main call themes are also vivid in the European context. Discussions and research on gender and sustainability originated in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro (Katz, 2006). Since then, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) of the 2030 Agenda, particularly Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and the other related Goals (4,9,10), have become more intricately connected to gender equality and sustainability. For instance, in the business field, Goal 5 aims to promote women's empowerment through the disclosure of gender pay gap in non-financial reports of companies (Paoloni and Consentino, 2023). As for Goal 12, it highlights the importance of sustainable production and consumption practices to preserve natural resources and the wellbeing of women, who often play a central role in managing these resources.

 

In this scenario fits in the relevant contribution of Claudia Goldin, 2020, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics, aimed to achieve gender equality and reduce the wage gap. Reaching this target is necessary to first achieve couple equity. The study emphasizes the unequal distribution of unpaid domestic work in heterosexual couples. This approach goes beyond the equitable allocation of strategic resources between men and women (Toren, 1993), underlining that reducing the gender wage gap will contribute to sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

 

In hindsight, the sustainability assumes a central role in treating gender issues. Sustainability can be defined as a comprehensive concept that embraces the interrelationship between economic, environmental, and social systems, better known as Triple Bottom Line (Elkington, 1998).

 

The promotion of sustainability is crucial for the overall wellbeing of society. It drives economic growth, promoting the creation of highly skilled jobs, addresses environmental issues, strengthens business success, and encouraging social challenges debate such as gender equality. The close relationship between gender equality and sustainability reflects an ethical commitment and drives innovation to adopt solutions based on disruptive technology. Sustainability emerges as a competitive advantage, particularly for women who contribute with new and fresh perspectives as well as valuable expertise capable of effectively guiding companies toward more sustainable practices (Talaulicar, 2023). Supported by knowledge and open innovation (Paoloni and Modaffari, 2020; Dal Mas and Paoloni, 2020; Paoloni and Modaffari 2021, Modaffari et al., 2023), women can raise awareness among companies on more sustainable practices (Gabaldón et al., 2023).

 

It follows, then, that best sustainability practices can only be achieved through the development of new knowledge. New knowledge generates innovation that commonly it can be defined as a key source of competitive advantage and it represents a driver for business success, allowing companies to reach temporary extra profits in dynamic, constantly changing, and competitive industries. Innovation activities are important, not only for firms, but for society as a whole: they enable economic growth, generate new high-skilled jobs, and address environmental issues and other social challenges, as gender equality.

 

However, nowadays little attention has been paid to these relevant issues, leaving unexplored and underestimated areas that could contribute to the real development of organizations. This is the basis for the 9th Ipazia workshop, which aims to explore the above issues, furthering the scientific debate on gender and sustainability.

 

The perspective we aim to convey in the 9th Ipazia Workshop explores the seamless integration of sustainability and gender equity, developing a comprehensive approach that effectively addresses current challenges and contributes to building a more equitable and sustainable future.

 

We welcome both conceptual and empirical papers, based on qualitative and quantitative approaches, related to the topics of knowledge and innovation in promoting gender equality in the field of sustainability. The main sub-topics of the conference are:

  • Diversity management and non- financial disclosure;

  • The impact of diversity on corporate performance;

  • Knowledge transfer process in women-owned businesses;

  • Gender equality as a strategy for sustainable development

  • The role of sustainability in the management of financial functions in female owned/run organizations.

  • Innovative financial tools for sustainable female entrepreneurship development.

  • New technologies, such as ICT, blockchain or digital platforms, for sustainable gender equality.

  • Ethical finance instruments of female-owned/run organizations.

  • Intangibles as drivers to develop sustainable female profit and no-profit organisations.

  • New laws and regulations for sustainable gender equality.

 

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Contacts

info@ipaziaobservatory.com

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