“Three things are necessary to overcome the gender divide. First, women must believe in their abilities. Then, we need ad hoc policies and a cultural shift, a change in mentality that is taking place, albeit very slowly,” declared Minister Paola Pisano to La Repubblica Journalist Rosita Rijtano who attended the press conference for the presentation of the sixth edition of Coding Girls [see article (in Italian): "Il 67% dei servizi della P.A. sono digitalizzati, ma li usa solo il 28% dei cittadini"].
A change in mentality that is taking place, albeit very slowly. As demonstrated by the story of a Coding Girl, Manuela Benedetti, who developed a platform to help hairdressers communicate with their clients and manage the parlour,” writes Rosita Rijtano. "The software application is now distributed throughout Italy, but just a few years ago, when she presented it to the director of a company in Milan, the reaction was incredulous. “I was asked if I had produced it and when I replied affirmatively, he answered ‘sure, a woman.’ I was truly shocked but found the strength to move ahead.”
In a phone conversation with Francesca Meini [@Francy_fmd], Manuela, explains how she decided to start her software house specialised in apps, after having studied Computer Science at Sapienza University of Roe. At present, she works with three young programmers.
