OUR STORIES

Today, on the occasion of Women’s Day, we decided to tell you about the experience of three solar professionals: Vita Capria (Head of Legal & Corporate Affairs), Pamela Santolamazza (Management Assistant & General Services) and Michela Demofonti (CEO Staff).

Through their words we want to give testimony to all the women who hold various roles at EF Solare and who, excluding field technicians, make up 40% of the company’s workforce. In a predominantly male-dominated industry, we are proud to celebrate women every day by giving them equal opportunities and rights.

VITA CAPRIA, HEAD OF LEGAL & CORPORATE AFFAIRS 

In the course of your experience, what difficulties have you encountered on your way to becoming a successful manager?

In my opinion, the difficulties of a woman manager are not in the possibilities of appointment, growth or career. In that sense I have not encountered any difficulties. Being a woman implies, however, by definition, being multitasking: we have many responsibilities and in the Italian managerial world, which is predominantly male, this is often not taken into consideration and combining work and family life is not always easy or possible.

In your career, what are the main differences you have encountered in working with men and women?

In my experience, I have always worked in a male-dominated and very competitive context and I have always had male bosses with whom I have found the right balance from the start. 

I have noticed that women are more inclined to mitigate, to solve problems without creating conflicts and tensions, and that they tend not to come forward unless they are 100% sure of their abilities and skills. 

I think it is easier for women to work with men than with each other because there is more competition. The biggest difference is that we women, by nature, can deal with several issues at the same time and solve all of them brilliantly.

PAMELA SANTOLAMAZZA, MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT & GENERAL SERVICES

What is the secret to combining being a mother and working life?

When I was ten years old, my grandmother told me: “if there is something to do, you think you can do it and that’s it”. Every working mother has her own secret for being able to do both roles at the same time, and mine is this: knowing that you can do it and being aware that one role feeds the other. I have learned from my children to listen, to change my point of view, to find quick solutions and from my work to organise, to keep my word, to pursue goals. But it is far from easy, every woman knows that. What is sure is that if anyone can do it, it has to be a woman. Our greatest strength is often recognised as a weakness: our sensitivity, which allows us to fully experience our emotions, process them, rationalise them and use them to find solutions. The secret to success at work is not to emulate men, but to do it in our own way: to draw on our mothers, often housewives, who never missed a play, who read us a fairy tale or woke us up with the smell of a cake in the oven and who, I must stress, worked continuously to organise the whole family. It was from them that we learned without realising that yes, it can be done.

How did EF Solare support you in this?

I’ve been working in this company for almost ten years and I’ve been lucky enough to see it grow and to grow with it. EF Solare has allowed me to manage my time. What every mum wishes is to have more time because you feel like you never have enough. Attending a rugby training session sitting in the stands with the PC on your lap or closing a deal with the headset in your ear and lifting your thumb to your daughter taking her first dive off the diving board: we mums are the pioneers of smart working. EF Solare didn’t just support me but was with me: I never had to choose between family and work, only to divide my time in such a way that work respected my family and family my work. It is important to work for objectives and it is thanks to this that I have achieved my current role and I can say that I have done it not, despite my children, but thanks to them. 

MICHELA DEMOFONTI, CEO STAFF

Which female professionals have inspired you the most?

In my work experience I have been lucky enough to meet managers who have been a model and a source of inspiration for me. Women who have made a name for themselves through their knowledge and skills, who have valued their abilities, who have managed to combine family life with work. Women who have never lost their determined smile, who have been able to stand out day after day thanks to the climate of cooperation, trust and mutual esteem created. Ambitious, resilient, kind and capable of valuing their collaborators and guiding them towards common goals.

What does a young woman expect from the world of work?

I expect a world of work based on meritocracy, where people are appreciated for their skills, competences and knowledge. A non-discriminatory world of work that recognises and values the potential of the individual and believes in the importance of a cooperative atmosphere. A world of work that is attentive to continuous training and growth, that knows how to create new incentive and that allows personal needs to be combined with work needs, to reciprocal advantage.