Good morning everyone.
I wish to thank President of the Chamber of Deputies Fontana for wanting to hold this ceremony. My greetings go to all authorities and former Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies. I also wish to thank President Boldrini; I didn’t know this was her initiative, and this wasn’t a given. My sincere thanks go to her and to all colleagues who are here today. My greetings to all of you.
Being here today, in this building, gives me quite a unique and special feeling, as it has made me personally reflect about my path in relation to what this morning’s ceremony is all about.
I walked into this building for the first time when I was 29, as a member of parliament of the Italian Republic. During that legislature, my first as an MP, I became Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies. It was one of the many times in my life when I have been put to the test. It was one of the many times in my life that I found myself doing something that may have perhaps seemed bigger than I was. Certainly, I was an MP during my first legislature and had to guide the work of an assembly, many of whose members undoubtedly had more experience than I did. At the time, I thought that was the reason for the almost amused looks I got from colleagues the first time I sat on the highest seat; there was a bit of an atmosphere that almost said “well this is going to be fun”. I thought that was the reason why many colleagues were surprised the first time I retorted to a colleague who had much more experience than me as I presided over the Chamber of Deputies. Perhaps the idea that I would not make it after all was a result of my inexperience in that role. Or maybe not, because, if you think about it, there are no training courses for such roles – anyone who finds themselves in such a role has to gain their experience as they go along – and also because, thinking about it, I have been met with those looks many times indeed during my life.
I was met with those same looks when I became the first female president of a right-wing youth organisation, when I became the youngest minister in Italy’s history, when I founded a party. I even got those looks when, a few months ago, I became President of the Council of Ministers, despite having 30 years of political experience behind me. Whatever I have done in my life, most have bet on me failing. Does the fact that I am a woman have something to do with it? Probably, and this is something that I realised very late on.
I am telling this story to say that there can be good news in what may seem like prejudice. I want to tell the women of this nation that always, or almost always, being underestimated is a great advantage because they often do not see you coming. We must be aware of this advantage, provided that we do not fall victim to that prejudice, provided that we do not consider the role that others have defined for us to be the only role we can aspire to, because this taboo sometimes also affects women. This has also happened to me in the past: at times I too almost convinced myself that perhaps my place was somewhere else. However, I am a non-conformist and luckily my non-conformism prevailed.
On the eve of 8th March, my message for the women of this nation is this: it is not about what role others have decided for you, it is about whether you accept it or not. In my opinion, this is what must make the difference. I want to turn the message around. It is above all women who must believe more in their abilities and potential; who must not accept the roles that are granted to them but must instead demand to earn them on the ground, on equal terms; who must reject the logic that sometimes leads women to prefer competing among themselves, as if they belonged to some other league, as if they were not really able to compete fully.
I have never believed, for example, in women’s politics; I believe there is a female view of politics, which is something different. It regards politics as a whole. There are no women’s issues and men’s issues. There are points of view on all issues that require a composite awareness, and therefore also a female point of view, but this is a different approach compared to what we have seen at times. I shall say more: it is about preferring the quality of representation over settling for quantity. In my view, the point is not how many women there are, but what roles they hold. This is true in politics and in other areas. The challenge is not how many women are members of boards of directors, the challenge is to have the first female CEO of a state-controlled company, and I want to announce that this is one of my goals, as I believe the true value of high-level competition lies in the quality more than the quantity of roles.
I am saying this ahead of an important decision the Government has to make, and in this regard I would like to imagine also big state-controlled companies having a female CEO, as this has never happened. I believe this is the great challenge of equal opportunities. Then of course it will be up to that woman, as it is up to me, as it is up to any of us who have held important positions, and who have done so for the first time, to prove that we are able to do it because, you see, the real glass ceiling cannot be broken just by getting there; you can only break it by showing that you can do a very good job. I’m not saying a better job, I’m saying a very good one.
This is my personal commitment for all Italian women who, every day, are forced to deal with unfair, and very great, difficulties in order to assert their talent, to have their sacrifices recognised, just as I am committed, on a daily basis, to finding solutions so that the women of this nation can fully succeed, without having to give up all kinds of things, because that is not fair.
In this spirit, I believe there will no longer be roles that are inaccessible for women, because today we are replacing a mirror with a photograph. President Fontana, there is another that we can and must remove: I believe that moment is not as far away as it may seem.
I do not believe that 8th March should be a day of laying claim to what others have to grant to women. I believe 8th March should be a day of pride and awareness of what we can do, whether others like it or not. This is precisely the message I want to send to inspire many women who perhaps think they cannot go further than a certain goal and who instead have to remember (and we will do all we can so they have the tools they need to do this) that, with willpower, pride and awareness, they can achieve any goal they like.
Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]