XXX edition of the Marisa Bellisario "Donne ad alta quota"
(Women at top levels) Award

PRESS RELEASE

"WOMEN VALUE COMPANY 2018 - INTESA SANPAOLO" AWARD
ORGANISED BY THE MARISA BELLISARIO FOUNDATION AND INTESA SANPAOLO,
THIS YEAR'S EDITION INCLUDES A SPECIAL AWARD
TO ENTERPRISES WHICH VALUE FEMALE TALENT AND GENDER EQUALITY

Torino, 8 November 2017. With almost 600 participating enterprises, more than 110 finalist companies, five organised events in Italy's major cities, and two enterprises rewarded for excellence in implementing policies promoting gender equality - Vetrya from Orvieto, which specialises in the development of solutions for communication and digital media channels, and Pegaso from Verona, managed by two women who produce natural food supplements for mental and physical wellbeing - the first edition of the "Women Value Company - Intesa Sanpaolo Award" was well received and enjoyed a healthy participation. Following this success, the award returns in 2018, conceived and set up by the Marisa Bellisario Foundation together with the Intesa Sanpaolo Group. The aim of the award is to involve enterprises in a programme which promotes female empowerment and to highlight the most virtuous and innovative practices implemented by companies to ensure equal opportunities and career path advancement.

The second edition of the «Women Value Company - Intesa Sanpaolo Award» kicks off today, with the opening of the call for small and medium-sized public and private enterprises (in accordance with the criteria set out in the European Commission's Recommendation 2003 361/EC) with a majority Italian capital holding and not belonging to groups, which have a good economic and financial performance and have stood out in their implementation of policies valuing female employment and gender diversity management: services for a family/work balance; initiatives which aim to guarantee both male and female employees an untroubled management of their time at the company (benefits, vouchers, onsite nurseries etc.); flexible work organisation policies; non-discriminatory, merit-based remuneration policies; development and assessment plans which value women's skills and careers, with a large representation of women in managerial or executive positions.

The enterprises that fit this profile may nominate themselves by the 9 February 2018 by completing the online questionnaire published on the www.intesasanpaolo.com and www.fondazionebellisario.org websites. Intesa Sanpaolo will also select among its corporate customers a panel of excellent small and medium-sized enterprises, inviting them to be involved in the selection process.

The two enterprises, one small and the other medium-sized, which have stood out from the others for having invested into overcoming the gender gap and into the professional growth of women will receive the award in June next year in Rome, at the XXX edition of the Marisa Bellisario "Donne ad alta quota" ("Women at top levels") Award. Another award will be given to the other enterprises that have also been selected during a series of promoted events in the country, in accordance with the application requirements.

The roadshow held in May, during which the Intesa Sanpaolo and the Marisa Bellisario Foundation teams rewarded achievement at five stops (Milan, Padua, Bologna, Naples and Turin), was a crucial element of success for the award's first edition. It was an extraordinary opportunity to let the finalist companies get to know each other and share their experiences, companies which have very different stories and come from various sectors and areas, but brought together by the passion and desire to be spokespeople for a key message: a greater participation of women in the working and business world can truly be a strategic factor of development and economic and social transformation for our country.

Lella Golfo, President of the Marisa Bellisario Foundation: "During the Italy-wide roadshow with the Intesa Sanpaolo team, we met knowledgeable and qualified managers, determined, brave and creative businessmen and businesswomen, ambassadors of Made in Italy, which we are all proud of. But above all, we saw first-hand how much success and profit go hand in hand with valuing human, and women's capital. We embarked on this adventure confidently and the results were beyond the most optimistic of expectations, confirming to us that small and medium-sized enterprises, and those run by women too, are thriving and ambitious. The second edition of Women Value Company is created from optimism: we want to draw out achievement and innovation! The XXX edition of the Marisa Bellisario award will be the best platform to reward the foresight and value of the many enterprises which rely on and invest in the talents of women on a daily basis."

Stefano Barrese, Head of the Intesa Sanpaolo Banca dei Territori Division and mentor of the Women Value Company award: "The first edition of the award, which Intesa Sanpaolo very much wanted to establish with the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, concluded with the sharing of a very clear idea: excellence and talent are genderless. Here at Intesa Sanpaolo we know this very well: women at work are knowledgeable, prepared, attentive, collaborative and resilient, and it is because of this that for a long time we have invested resources and energy in order to guarantee equal evaluation of skills and remuneration. As a Bank which supports Italy's real economy, we have the ambition of also spreading this model abroad. The great reception that the initiatives relating to Women Value Company received spurs us on to continue along this path: we want to support a growing number of enterprises who do not consider difference to be a problem, but an added value which leaves space for growth and competition."

Press Information:

Intesa Sanpaolo
Banca dei Territori Media and Local Media
Tel. +39 011.5559609
stampa@intesasanpaolo.com

Marisa Bellisario Foundation
Head of Communication - Marina Abbate
Tel. +39 06.85357628 - 338.2910401
m.abbate@fondazionebellisario.org