Engineering professor Francesca Parotti has been teaching a class on Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Systems since we introduced our engineering program in 2015. Outside of teaching, her freelance work includes that of building-site safety manager. On March 6, she participated in a round-table at a conference on women and workplace safety at the town hall in Bagno a Ripoli, a suburb of Florence.
Parotti was happy to report back that the discussions were very animated and there were several interesting talks. She said participants stressed the importance of women taking leading roles in the workplace while being guaranteed the ability to reconcile work and motherhood and not being forced to choose because of a lack of institutional support.
Speakers also highlighted how performance stress affects women more than men because they are constantly being forced to prove that they “deserve” their roles in STEM or as managers.
As a case in point, Parotti’s presentation focused on her struggles as a safety manager trying to make others respect the rules because of the chauvinist culture of building sites where service orders are taken less seriously when delivered by a woman.
