Feature: Italian female entrepreneurs, managers aim high on Int'l Women's Day

"When I enter a hardware store and ask for 20 sandbags, all men there usually look at me in a strange way and smile, clearly asking themselves why am I buying such a thing. Being a female artist can be funny sometimes," Camilla Marinoni, an Italian artist, told Xinhua on Tuesday, the International Women's Day.

The sandbags such as the cement or other "masculine stuff" are a fundamental part of Marinoni installations. She also makes sculptures and jewels, and had dreamt of becoming an artist since childhood. "Today I feel satisfied with my life, I am happy of being a female artist," she went on saying.

The artistic field in Italy is not an easy one, neither for women nor for men, Marinoni explained to Xinhua. "But there are many examples of excellent female artists in our history, and I want to learn from them and aim higher and higher," she said as she was about to attend a conference of female artists in Milan to celebrate the women's day.

Marinoni said that the most difficult part of her job is selling her artworks, which implies an entrepreneurial ability. That is why she has joined a network, Rete al Femminile (Female Network), created in Italy by female entrepreneurs to support each other. "Once a month, I take part in their courses and activities, we confront and exchange experiences and views," she said.

According to a study published by Doxa research company, there are more than 1.3 million female-owned businesses in Italy, while Grant Thornton's 2016 international business report showed that women run some 29 percent of the senior management positions available in the country, a 3 percent increase compared to 2015.

Rita Preatoni, the head of academic program in an international post-graduate design school in Milan, SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design, believes that women have a natural propensity for dialogue and relations. "From my experience, I find that women in general are more committed to the good results of their company than to their own personal career, compared to men," she told Xinhua.

Preatoni works in a multicultural and open environment, in touch with students and professionals in the field of design and architecture from all over the world. However, she said, for female workers in Italy it is not always easy to search a position that matches their skills, especially when they are mothers or live in less developed regions.

Furthermore, sometimes women even when have management roles are victim of prejudices, as they feel a sort of need to demonstrate every day their capacities in front of male colleagues, Preatoni added. In her view there is a lack of solidarity and trust between women. "I think that today it would be much more useful to do networking and discuss about common problems rather than celebrating the International Women's Day just as a symbolic feast," she said.

On Tuesday, Italy hosted a number of events dedicated to women, including celebrations and conferences. Squares in Rome and in other cities throughout the country appeared adorned with mimosa, and social networks filled with greetings and pictures of the yellow flowers, iconic homage to women.

The wishes for women's day from Umberto Buontiempo, a retired military officer, were special ones. "I invited my male friends to leave mimosa on trees and offer to women instead some things that will never wither: tenderness, respect and love," the 70-year-old said. "In fact for me it is the women's day not just today, but all year long."

Buontiempo explained that women have had a fundamental role in his life. "After my father died, I was grown up by my mother and five sisters of her, and I feel extremely thankful. I love women, I love to spend my time with them and I feel full of respect for them. I think that their presence in each place of everyday life make things function more efficiently, more smoothly," he pointed out.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday said he hoped that a "stronger presence of women in institutions, companies, universities, associations, political parties and labour unions will help overcome old cultural barriers." He also added that violence against women remains a "scourge of society" and "must be countered with all the energy and the severity we are capable of."

"As an entrepreneur, I wanted to make all of my clients aware that today it is the women's day," said Valentina Brianza, the owner of OPA Balkan Food, the first restaurant in Milan which offers a variety of products from across the Balkan region.

Brianza was born in Montenegro and grown up in Italy. "I had never celebrated this feast before," she told Xinhua while offering some heart shaped chocolates to two female clients. "But this year I am particularly happy, I have fulfilled my dreams and I want everybody to know how women can be successful entrepreneurs but at the same time gentle souls in need of care and love," she said. Endit