ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s state-controlled companies should have at least one leader who is a woman, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, ahead of appointments at key firms such as ENI, Enel, Poste Italiane and Leonardo.
“The challenge is not how many women sit on a board of directors, the challenge is when will we have the first woman chief executive in a state-controlled company,” Meloni said at an event in parliament.
“Because, I am telling you, it is one of my objectives,” she added.
Meloni, 46, is Italy’s first female prime minister.
Her right-wing government, which took office in October, is expected to decide on chairperson and CEO positions at major state-controlled companies by the end of the month, sources have said.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Kirsten Donovan)