Culture, network, responsibility: how Barilla says no to gender violence
Gender-based violence is not an isolated incident, but a systemic phenomenon fueled by inequality, stereotypes, and silence. No place is immune—not even the workplace. In 2017, an episode of femicide involving two company colleagues deeply affected the Barilla community. From that wound came Il Filo di Arianna, a program that brings together all the company’s initiatives to prevent and combat gender-based violence. Today, that commitment is an integral part of the Global Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and has evolved into a structured, cultural, and collective journey.
We discuss it with four key figures in this journey: Luisa Ercoli, Valeria Icardi, Monica Rossi, and Isidoro Colluto from Barilla Group.
Luisa Ercoli, Group D&I Strategy and Initiatives Manager
Luisa, why is it essential for companies to take an active role in combating gender-based violence?
Because gender-based violence is not a private issue, but a cultural phenomenon that cuts across every context — including the professional one. It represents the most extreme expression of inequality, which also manifests itself in language, everyday behaviors, roles, and power dynamics. A company has the duty to act as a social player: to raise awareness, offer listening and support, and create the conditions for mutual respect. The 2017 episode caught us completely unprepared. We realized that no organization is immune and that knowledge, tools, and alliances are essential to address this issue effectively. We learned that naming violence is the first step: speaking about it openly, engaging in training, and building a culture that does not tolerate it in any form. Combating it means acting on its roots — stereotypes, gender roles, and power asymmetries. It means doing so every day, inside and outside the company.
Valeria Icardi, Member of the Global D&I Board and Customer Team Director
Valeria, what concrete initiatives have you implemented, and how important is collaboration between companies?
Our commitment has been a collective journey from the very beginning. Through Il Filo di Arianna, we established a Listening Observatory involving over 80 people across offices and production sites, enhanced the role of our in-house social workers, and shared information about local support resources. We integrated our insurance policies with psychological support, trained Ambassadors Against Violence in collaboration with Fondazione Libellula and D.i.Re – Donne in Rete Contro la Violenza, and promoted training on gender bias, microaggressions, and harassment. We have worked to make the principles of equity and respect structural: in 2020, we achieved pay equity for equal roles, and in 2024, we introduced the Global Parental Leave Policy, guaranteeing 12 fully paid weeks for all parents—regardless of gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. In 2023, together with Valore D and the foundation Una Nessuna Centomila, we contributed to drafting the document From Silence to Action (Dal Silenzio all’Azione), an invitation for companies to implement concrete policies against gender-based and domestic violence, and to share over 60 best practices for prevention and response. Building networks is therefore essential: companies must work together as a system, amplify the impact of their initiatives, foster connections with local organizations, and become places of protection and cultural change. To address the cultural dimension within the company, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have played a crucial role — groups of colleagues who act as catalysts for change, dialogue, and awareness.
Monica Rossi, Co-leader of the ERG Balance and IT Director Regions Italy and Western Europe
Monica, speaking about the role of ERGs, how do you build a company culture that prevents gender-based violence?
Through consistency, listening, and engagement. Cultural change cannot be imposed from above — it must be built day by day, through coherent policies, training, dialogue, and concrete actions. Our ERG Balance, dedicated to gender-related issues, has been instrumental in bringing this topic into the daily life of the company. It is made up of volunteer employees who work to raise awareness among our people about gender equality and the prevention of violence. We have organized both in-person and virtual meetings, with strong participation from men and women alike, to spread awareness about the different forms of violence — physical, economic, digital, but also more subtle ones such as language and microaggressions. We have addressed the issue of online violence, thanks to collaborations with experts who helped us reflect on respect, consent, and prevention. But we didn’t stop at awareness. We installed a red bench in memory of Arianna, donated funds to D.i.Re, and, above all, created spaces for listening and dialogue. Company culture is the ground where respect is sown. And every gesture, every word, every choice can help build a safer and more inclusive environment.
Isidoro Colluto, Customer Team Director
Isidoro, how can men play an active role in combating gender-based violence?
Being part of the solution means, first and foremost, recognizing that gender-based violence is not a “women’s issue,” but one that concerns everyone. Men have a crucial role to play — not only as allies, but as key agents of a cultural change rooted in awareness, listening, and responsibility. At Barilla, we have encouraged male engagement and participation in every initiative, to openly discuss stereotypes, privilege, education models, and leadership. It has been a deep reflection on language, behavior, silence, and everyday relationships — and on how these can, even unconsciously, contribute to perpetuating power imbalances and discrimination. We have worked on emotional and gender education, including through the distribution of books and testimonies that speak to the men of tomorrow. Our goal is to build a culture of respect that is not only reactive, but preventive — where men are not bystanders, but drivers of change. Because every time we choose not to look the other way, we help break the silence and build an environment where safety and dignity are shared rights. In 2023, following the femicide of Giulia Cecchettin, a group of our male colleagues organized a silent march to our red bench. They all carried a sign that read: “It concerns me.”
These are the words with which these men called their colleagues together: “Faced with the massacre of women, our task is to speak, to understand, to step out of the shadows and out of silence. We must keep the issue open, probe its depths, shed light on the nature of gender-based violence, and speak out.
If we break the silence, if we expose the mythology of male omnipotence, perhaps we can learn to be more aware of our limits and our duties, as well as of our rights and boundless horizons. Breaking the silence of men is the only way for men to step forward, to look at themselves from the outside, to learn the richness of relationship rather than the poverty of domination. Breaking down the wall of sexism and oppression — that is the challenge, educational, individual, and collective. Violence against women calls into question the social order, language, everything, and every one of us.”
Barilla’s journey shows that combating gender-based violence does not mean simply reacting to incidents, but acting on the cultural and structural causes that generate it. “Violence thrives where there is inequality and silence,” concludes Luisa Ercoli.