HeForShe Gala in Italy: New Advocates for Gender Equality Mark a Year of the National Chapter

UN Women Italy Board and new 2026 HeForShe Italy advocates at the 2026 HeForShe Italy Gala in Naples, Italy. 
Photo credit: Antonella Panella

Italy, June 17, 2026 - As the Italy National HeForShe chapter marks just over a year since its establishment, its work continues to demonstrate how sustained engagement, strategic alliances, and local leadership can accelerate progress toward gender equality. 

On June 17, the second edition of the HeForShe Gala took place at the Villa Doria d’Angri, home of the University of Naples Parthenope, bringing together leaders from institutions, academia, and business. The event was convened by UN Women Italy, reinforcing its commitment to expanding HeForShe across the country. The Gala also celebrated the journey of the Italian HeForShe Advocates - leaders who actively promote inclusive cultures and stand up against stereotypes across sectors.

Building on last year’s appointments—including activist Gino Cecchettin, actor Alessio Boni, UN diplomat Luca Fratini, and Professor Alessandro Rosina—the 2026 Gala introduced four new HeForShe Advocates:

1. Francesco Billari, Rector of Bocconi University, recognized for advancing inclusive leadership in academia through the adoption of the Inclusive Gender Equality Plan and the university’s Gender Budget.
2. William Griffini, CEO of Carter & Benson and co-founder of the Winning Women Institute, recognized for promoting the first certification dedicated to gender equality in the Italian labour market.
3. Stefano Ciccone, Founder of Maschile Plurale, honoured for decades of work addressing gender-based violence and promoting non-sexist masculinities. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation.

4. Guido Borsani, President of the Deloitte Foundation, recognized for initiatives reducing the gender gap in STEM through the STEM Observatory and for supporting a public artwork dedicated to Margherita Hack, the first of its kind in Italy dedicated to a female scientist.

    

The urgency of HeForShe’s work in Italy is underscored by global and national data from the ISTAT and the Global Gender Gap Report. It is estimated that achieving global gender parity will take 123 years, with the world currently just 68.8% of the way there. Women remain significantly underrepresented in leadership roles, holding only 28.8% of positions globally, while Italy ranks 85th out of 148 countries overall. In Italy specifically, 6.4 million women have experienced some form of violence, highlighting that gender inequality remains both a structural and societal challenge requiring sustained collective response.

Despite high educational attainment among women, economic participation remains a structural gap in Italy, which ranks 117th globally in this area. Gender-based violence remains a critical concern: 12.6% of women have experienced intimate partner violence, while 17.9% and 6.6% have experienced psychological and economic violence respectively.

“The active involvement of men in the path to equality is essential if we are to accelerate the achievement of an equal society. We celebrate this alliance as a concrete lever for building a more just world.” - Darya Majidi, President of UN Women Italy.

The second edition of the HeForShe Gala in Italy reinforces a central message: gender equality is not a women’s issue, but a collective responsibility. By engaging men and boys as active allies, UN Women Italy continues to mobilize institutions, companies, and citizens to close the gender gap.