The Gruppo Donne Imprenditrici FIPE-Confcommercio turned the spotlight on leadership, innovation and new welfare models during a key discussion held within TUTTOFOOD 2026 — the leading international B2B trade fair dedicated to the agri-food sector, currently taking place at Fiera Milano Rho. The talk, entitled “Women. Fuori Casa. Future.”, became one of the central moments in the broader conversation about the future of Italy’s hospitality industry.
Hosted in Pavilion 6 within the Mixology Area, the event brought together some of the most influential voices in the national gastronomic scene, highlighting how the public hospitality sector is undergoing profound structural and cultural transformation.
The backdrop is a market of enormous scale. According to figures compiled by FIPE-Confcommercio and presented during the fair, Italy’s “fuori casa” market is worth nearly €100 billion in consumer spending — precisely €99.9 billion in 2025 — while generating an added value of €59.3 billion.
At the same time, the numbers reveal the challenges facing a sector made up of 324,436 businesses and affected by a sharp employment decline. In 2025, the industry employs just over one million people, marking a 10.3% decrease compared to the previous year, while one out of every two companies struggles to recruit qualified staff.
It is within this “perfect storm” — shaped by rising raw material costs and declining productivity — that female entrepreneurship is taking on an increasingly strategic role.
Opening the discussion was Valentina Picca Bianchi, President of the Gruppo Donne Imprenditrici FIPE-Confcommercio and founder of Whitericevimenti. Recently reconfirmed as head of the Women’s Enterprise Committee at Italy’s Ministry for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Picca Bianchi outlined a vision in which women are no longer viewed merely as an operational resource, but as a true engine of industrial policy.
“Female entrepreneurship can no longer be treated as a separate chapter. It must become a transversal pillar of the country’s policies,” she stated, stressing that reducing the gender gap is now a strategic choice for competitiveness.
The panel, moderated by journalist and food expert Anna Prandoni, offered a cross-sector perspective spanning the entire supply chain.
On the creative and business management side, chef and entrepreneur Viviana Varese shared the experience of transforming tradition into daily innovation. Alongside her, Francesca Bardelli Nonino discussed how digital communication is reshaping territorial identity, while Sonia Re pointed to education and training as the essential tools for bridging the mismatch between labour demand and supply.
Representing the advocacy perspective was Fabiana Romano, President of Dominae, who highlighted a significant imbalance: “In the HoReCa sector, women account for more than 60% of the workforce, yet only 20% sit on boards of directors. In professional kitchens, just 19% of Michelin-starred chefs are women.”
Referring to the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, Romano noted that, at the current pace, it will take another 123 years to achieve global gender equality. “None of us — nor our daughters or granddaughters — will live to see that world. We must build an ecosystem where women do not ask for space, but claim it through competence and determination.”
Human resources management was also a central topic thanks to the contribution of Martina Testa. Completing the panel were Marta Cotarella and Ilenia Ruggeri, representing excellence in hospitality education and the strength of the beverage industry respectively.
The discussion made it clear that technological innovation, sustainability and evolving consumption models — particularly the growth of delivery services — are forcing the sector to rethink itself from the ground up. In this context, female leadership emerges not only as a tool for resilience, but as a decisive factor in balancing productive efficiency with a new paradigm of welfare and workplace wellbeing.
As repeatedly emphasized during TUTTOFOOD 2026, the major challenge facing Italy’s hospitality sector will be transforming passion — which currently motivates 41% of entrepreneurs in the industry — into a structured and attractive profession for younger generations. And in steering this transformation, women already seem to be firmly in the driver’s seat.
