Pride in A2A: a story that becomes a community starting from listening

Pride takes different forms. It is the pride of feeling welcomed, of being able to freely express one’s identity, of working in an environment in which uniquenesses are recognized as a value. But it is also the pride of belonging to a group that chooses to listen to its people and to transform that listening into concrete actions.

For A2A, being a Life Company also means this: putting its people at the center, building every day a work environment in which every person can feel respected, valued and included. It is from this objective that, in 2021, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) function was born, with the mission of promoting an increasingly inclusive culture and accompanying the cultural change of the Group. Alongside the DE&I Team there is the Inclusion Team, made up of volunteer colleagues divided into five thematic groups – Gender, LGBTQI+, Culture, Generations and Disability – which contributes to giving voice to people’s needs by transforming them into projects and initiatives capable of generating value for the entire organization.

For A2A, in fact, change always starts from listening. In recent years the company has strengthened the tools dedicated to listening through surveys on DE&I topics, on harassment, violence and gender discrimination; it has carried out a Call for Inclusion and, through the Dazme platform, a system that integrates specific DE&I indicators and makes it possible to monitor over time perceptions, needs and any differences among the different company populations. The objective is to give a voice to all the people in the group, also reaching the most operational contexts and the different locations distributed throughout the territory, so that every experience can contribute to guiding change.

Listening, however, represents only the first step. The real value arises when what emerges is transformed into concrete actions. This journey has in fact given rise to initiatives that today represent distinctive elements of A2A’s commitment: the policy for the prevention of and fight against harassment, violence and gender discrimination in the workplace, which defines protection tools and introduces the figure of the Trusted Advisor, a point of listening and support for people; the policy on social transition, which accompanies the journey of affirming one’s gender identity; the possibility of using the chosen name in company systems, allowing those who are transitioning to be recognized and called by the name that best represents their identity, even before the conclusion of the personal records process; the creation of gender-free restrooms; the extension of welfare measures also to the intended parent; as well as webinars, training programs, awareness-raising and communication campaigns promoted by the Inclusion Team.

A particularly significant moment was the webinar organized on the occasion of Coming Out Day. During the meeting, a person from the Group decided to share their coming-out journey, recounting the experience with authenticity and courage. A gesture of great value, which represents one of the most concrete expressions of the journey undertaken over the years by A2A to build a psychologically safe work environment, in which every person can feel free to express their identity in the professional context, without fear of judgment or discrimination.

A2A’s commitment has also received recognition externally with the awarding of the Best Company prize at the eighth edition of the Parks – LGBT+ Diversity Index, as evidence of a journey built over time thanks to the contribution of many people who, with ideas, skills and experiences, continue to fuel positive change. It is within this context that the group’s participation in Prides in different Italian cities also fits: not an isolated initiative, but one of the moments in which to make visible a work that continues every day. This, for A2A, is the most authentic meaning of pride: building a workplace in which every person can feel free to be themselves, knowing that they belong to a community that recognizes them, respects them and values their uniqueness.