One Day in Europe is a feature of EFG’s monthly newsletter GeoNews. Each month we travel to one of EFG’s national membership associations and discover their main activities and challenges. In July 2018 we have continued our journey across Italy and talked to representatives of our Italian National Association CNG.

The Italian National Council of Geologists (CNG) is the national organization in Italy which has the legislated authority to register professional geoscientists and regulate geosciences practice in Italy. It is the largest national association within EFG representing more than 11000 individual members from the academic and professional sectors.

Representatives of CNG have informed us about challenges relating to equal opportunities for men and women. Here below you can read a contribution by Gabriele Ponzoni who speaks about the role of CNG’s Equal Opportunities Commission.

The Equal Opportunities Commission of the CNG (Italian National Association) has been created with the aim of enhancing and giving the same professional role for men and women. What are the main objectives you want to achieve? 

This question contains many meanings. It’s necessary to train members to raise awareness to various particular issues relating to equal opportunities for men and women. We need to “educate” our members about the instruments to support their needs both within in the CNG and in the laws in force in Italy.

On 23 March 2018 the training workshop “Equality, Equal Opportunities and Principle of non-discrimination” took place in Rome. It was organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission of the CNG under the patronage of the “Fondazione Centro Studi of CNG” and the European Federation of Geologists. What about your feedback?

The response was extremely positive both in terms of appreciation of the problem about gender equality and for the various issues discussed. It was very appreciated by participants the discussion on the issue of disparities in various European countries and also the EFG Code of Ethics. Indeed, a very quick study has led to the awareness that these issues can be – and must be – addressed in a comprehensive manner at the European level. You can read EFG’s Code of Ethics at the following link.

What are the specific measures to achieve full equality between men and women in the employment sphere?

First of all, this particular situation needs strong attention. It must be absolutely addressed and consequently resolved, first with a cultural and ethical awareness and then with laws that people will always try to circumvent. In my opinion, it’s appropriate to extend the analysis of the issue to the problem of age (junior and senior) and to the religious and political question. Indeed, I was at a recent event organised by Epap (our pension fund) in which they talked about young geologists that left their job to change towards other professions. It is a very difficult task for a young person to properly integrate into the professional world of geologists beyond a gender problem.

Do you have a European reference model, a country in which important goals have been achieved on gender equality in the employment sphere?

We have gender problems everywhere. It’s desirable to achieve the working conditions that exist in the countries of Northern Europe. Particularly, the European reference model is the Scandinavian system which adopts very advanced patterns of behaviour and assistance to all members of society. Also, in other countries, there are a lot of valid ethical and legislative processes to affirm equal conditions for all members of that community.

Do you agree to ask for a female postmark with the word “geologist” (male form in the Italian language) as it has already happened for the Order of Architects of Bergamo and Rome in Italy?

It’s a delicate question. I think that we can give geologists the possibility of choice. In my opinion, the term that most represents the category is “geologist” declined to the male form in the Italian language because it’s more similar to the Anglo-Saxon word “geologist”. This word indicates the generic category without distinction between male or female gender. In short (but it’s my opinion), it is preferable to pursue the battle for the correct economic recognition of all members of the geological category, regardless of age, gender, political and religious profession.

What do you want to ask political groups to achieve gender equality in the professional categories?

The problem is not to make yet another law that normalises this issue, but the question is to act on the educational and ethics system from the school system. Indeed, when I attended school, I studied civic education. I believe that the problem cannot be solved with laws that, by nature, are imposed; we can solve it by acting in the minds of people and in their educational and scholastic model.