Boston Is on the Side of Women
Why are there still so few women in the world of technology companies? How can their presence be increased, since they are as qualified as men for tech jobs? These are the questions that the BAA Boston Chapter sought to answer by organizing Woman@Innovation, a panel that discussed ways to empower women in the tech industry, with Natalia Bergamaschi (Google), Laura Indolfi (Panther Therapeutics), Myriam Mariani (Bocconi), Nicola Palmarini (IBM and author of Le infiltrate) and Elisabeth Bramson-Boudreau, COO of the MIT Technology Review.
The meeting, held on 18 May, is an example of how the chapter has developed in recent years under the guidance of Francesco Fragasso, CFO of Desalitech Inc. "We consolidated our alumni base and our ability to organize broader events," the Chapter Leader explains. While advocating for the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA), "which has proven very effective," an urban trend has been particularly advantageous: "The city is undergoing a transformation, attracting foreign investment and becoming the destination of choice for the headquarters of several corporations, which consequently attract new Bocconi alumni to Boston. An example of this is Enel, the Italian utility company, which has one of its most important subsidiaries here."
Boston is growing and so is the BAA chapter, which has maintained, however, a distinctive feature evident from the beginning: it is a group strongly polarized around junior and senior figures. In fact, this characteristic is the soul of successful business networking, Fragasso explains: "It is essential that continuous interaction between the two generations take place. For the younger generation, the BAA can be a window on advanced and innovative firms, for the older generation it is a wonderful opportunity for business mentorship."