February 2025 marked the beginning of Palazzo di Varignana’s journey toward achieving UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification—the Italian standard that defines the requirements for a gender equality management system within organizations—with the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Committee. This internal forum guided the initial phase of analysis, engagement, and priority-setting. A complex and in-depth process, it was completed eleven months later, in December 2025, with the certification award ceremony led by Roberta Prati, Certification Director at Bureau Veritas.
The PdR 125 framework assesses organizational maturity across six strategic areas: culture and strategy, governance, HR processes, women’s growth opportunities and inclusion, pay equity, protection of parenthood, and work–life balance. This approach makes it possible to track concrete progress and to implement actions that deliver lasting results, rather than remaining good intentions.
At Palazzo di Varignana, gender equality is not a label to apply, but a journey that requires clarity of purpose, appropriate tools, and patience. As the auditors reminded us during the assessment, “certifications such as UNI PdR 125 are not end points, but true pathways that outline ambitious journeys and require consistency.” This statement has become our guiding principle: ambition—because organizations start from different backgrounds and must build awareness and empathy—and consistency and patience, because results are achieved only by those who sow continuously.
Palazzo di Varignana already had strong foundations: a significant presence of female employees and women in management roles, along with well-established gender-sensitive practices. We chose, however, to formalize and strengthen this commitment through concrete tools: the drafting of an Inclusive Language Manifesto, because words are not mere labels but models that shape thinking and behavior—defining an inclusive communication style means building daily practices that foster a more welcoming work environment and support long-term cultural change; targeted welfare policies for new mothers and structured return-to-work support paths, designed to concretely accompany the transition between family and professional life; and the adoption of a Diversity & Inclusion Policy, which serves as the strategic framework connecting all other measures and defining our overall plan for inclusivity and gender equality. Looking ahead to 2026, an additional work–life balance measure is planned: the extension of paternity leave by three additional days, on top of existing measures, because caregiving is a shared responsibility.
Achieving UNI/PdR 125 is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of a daily responsibility. We monitor indicators, communicate results, update practices, and listen to people. Our goal is for inclusion to become part of everyday routine, and for the good work done today to open new paths for continued improvement tomorrow.
