President Barbara Marinali presented the project to Eugenia Roccella, Minister for the Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities

“Mother with Acea during your first 1,000 days”. Acea, the company led by Fabrizio Palermo, secured the #Riparto call for proposals: corporate welfare paths to facilitate the return to work of mothers, launched by the Department for family policies. Through its corporate welfare project supporting working mothers returning to work, the Group ranked 6th out of 122 companies. The project “Mother with Acea”, which will run for 24 months with a total value of 625 thousand euros, will receive public funding of over 393 thousand euros. The initiatives to be developed were presented today by Barbara Marinali, President of Acea, to Eugenia Roccella, Minister for the Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities.

The project aims at promoting the development of measures that provide an integrated corporate welfare system to support working mothers returning to work after the birth of a child. The planned actions include: a bonus for mothers, a “welcome back kit”, additional leave for paediatric specialist visits and mandatory vaccinations, two maternity leave replacements, a network of services to support parenting, skills development programs for new mothers with children aged 0-3, a mother empowerment program, a taxi service for mothers, work-life balance policies, and a psycho-physical wellness program.

“Our government strongly believes in the importance of work-life balance and in the valuable contribution that companies can make in creating a welcoming work environment for parenthood, and especially for motherhood. We immediately launched a “call to action”: an alliance between institutions, the world of work and business, associationism, and local communities. Ensuring that motherhood does not penalise women in the workplace, and truly enabling them to succeed, is a fundamental issue of justice, economic development, and the fight against low birth rates”, stated Eugenia Roccella, Minister for the Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities.

“This project, dedicated to parenthood, will support 120 mothers by promoting flexible working hours and organizational models. We aim to support the birth rate through initiatives and services that harmonize the demands of working life with those of parenthood. Acea is committed to recognizing how important it is for mothers to find their emotional sphere in everyday life, which also includes the time spent at the office, through work and its activities. Being a parent is a journey we can walk together. Before being mothers or fathers, we are human beings, made of emotions, passions, and dreams still waiting to be discovered”, stated Barbara Marinali, President of Acea.