Women in Business Committee


header women in business

A focused Committee set up to support with concrete actions aspiring women entrepreneurs in their efforts to start, grow and manage successful businesses.

The Women in Business Committee was established at the Torino Chamber of Commerce in 1999 when the Union of Italian Chambers of Commerce signed an agreement with the Ministry of Productive Activities.

The Committee is made of 21 members on behalf of local business, professional and labour associations, banks and Chamber of Commerce.

Commitee members

The members for the three-year period 2020-2023 are:

  • Agriculture
    • Francesca Ercules
    • Elisa D’Amore
    • Sara Chialva
       
  • Industry
    • Brigitta Sardo
    • Cristina Tumiatti
       
  • Handicraft
    • Francesca Coalova
    • Elena Imberti
    • Diana Debenedetti
       
  • Trade and services
    • Maria Myriam Catalano
    • Caterina Fioritti
    • Lucia Vigna
       
  • Tourism
    • Cecilia Garetto
       
  • Bank and credit
    • Simona Gastaldello
       
  • Cooperative
    • Alessandra Brogliatto
    • Valentina Gusella
       
  • Labour organizations
    • Elena Petrosino
    • Cristina Maccari
    • Silvia Marchetti
    • Maria Teresa Cianciotta
       
  • Managers
    • Maria Pia Valperga Milanesio
       
  • Freelancers
    • Rosanna Chiesa

Mission

The Committee’s mission is to support with concrete actions aspiring women entrepreneurs in their efforts to start, grow and manage successful businesses. In today’s global context, we need to encourage women to increase the spectrum of possible careers and to tackle sectors they are not involved, including sciences and new technologies.

The Committee has proactively introduced programs aimed at supporting women with the follow activities:

  • Annual training courses to provide information about setting up a business
  • Organization of meetings and conferences with local institutions and secondary schools around particular topics
  • Projects and activities aimed to abate digital gender gap
  • Annual monitoring of women local enterprises (link to annual trends)
  • Participation in trade fairs and exhibitions

The 2020 programme, entitled "business and creativity", consisted of a series of activities designed to illustrate how creativity can be a driver for business and business development.

Due to the Covid-19, planned activities have changed and the WBC, in accordance with the theme of the year, organized many webinars and activities remotely:

Events and virtual meetings
  • New business at starting blocks (training course)
  • Creativity lab: performing in V.U.C.A. World (training course)
  • Red shoes: always against violence (training course)
  • Tackling the new normal: a path to developing resilience and preparing for tomorrow (training course)
  • Girls, digital & STEM: future right now
  • Women & Digital leadership: skills to develop leadership
  • How to start a new business: home restaurant
  • How to start a new business: home food lab
  • Green economy and female business
  • Green economy for smart city
  • The new work life balance after the pandemic
Projects
  • Informed company (counselling activity) - all the year long
  • Next Land -  STEM for girsl and moms – project in collaboration with Next Level association
  • Always against violence
  • Business networking
  • More women for a better Italy – project in collaboration with the Milan WBC
Networking
  • Piedmont WBC Network – since 2000
  • Italian WBC Network – since 2000
  • European Women Network – since 2019
  • IWEC Federation – since 2019
  • Local network against violence – since 2020
  • Collaboration with Milan WBC – since 2020

The International Women‘s Enterpreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC)

The Torino Chamber of Commerce with its Women in Business Committee is the only Italian Chamber joining IWEC Foundation, an international organization set up to connect and develop a global network of successful women business owners through working with international chambers of commerce and women’s business organizations.

IWEC is dedicated to developing a global network of successful women business owners. The Foundation bring together female entrepreneurs who are already in the global marketplace and want to expand, as well as those looking to branch out internationally. Headquartered in New York City, IWEC works with approximately 50 international Chambers of commerce and women’s business organizations.

The IWEC Foundation’s network has grown to a vibrant group of 460 successful women business owners from 47 countries, who represent industries ranging from fashion, consumer products, and consulting services to STEM, agriculture, and manufacturing.

In 2023, the Torino Chamber of Commerce hosted the 16th International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Annual Conference. Sustainability, Inclusion and Resilience: these are the modern challenges of companies worldwide. The economy and the way of doing business have been completely revolutionized by globalization and digitalization. The event has been a great opportunity for networking, projects sharing and discussion, inspiring participants and becoming an accelerator for the world economy.

Contacts

Women in Business Committee 
New Business Department 
Via San Francesco da Paola, 24 
10123 - Torino 
Italy 
Head of office: Ms. Laura Marello (­­+39 011 571 6350) 
Ref.: Ms. Francesca Alquati (+39 011 571 6354) 
Ref.: Ms. Laura Belforte (+39 011 571 6353) 
E-mail: comitatoimprenditoriafemminile@to.camcom.it

11/07/2025 - 18:00

Aggiornato il: 11/07/2025 - 18:00