Marcolin takes a stand against economic violence against women

There is a type of violence that is little talked about, perhaps because it is less visible and difficult to decipher: economic violence. Yet, it is a real abuse, where controlling the partner’s financial resources is a means of exercising power within a relationship. And it often results in physical violence: men may become violent if they feel threatened by their female partners’ increased economic independence. This type of violence can be detected only by «following the money,» that is, reconstructing how family finances are managed: who earns a salary? Who controls the bank account? Who makes decisions about purchases or investments?

Among the tools used for assessing it, four American researchers have developed SEA-12 (Scale of Economic Abuse, 2008), a scale consisting of a series of questions whose answers allow them to measure the level of economic violence in a relationship with regard to: economic control, economic exploitation, and employment sabotage (preventing a partner from working is also a form of economic violence). Is it a more common issue in developing countries? Not really, if we think (Global Thinking Foundation data , 2023) that in Italy more than 31 percent of women are financially dependent on their partner or another family member; only 58 percent have a personal bank account; 13 percent have only one jointly held with their partner or another family member, while 4.8 percent do not even have one.

To combat the cultural, social and psychological reasons behind this phenomenon, there is no shortage of solutions: from the introduction of financial education in schools to equal opportunity policies in the world of work (according to the JobPricing Observatory report, there is a gender pay gap on gross annual pay of around 9.6%). And on this ground Marcolin has been at the forefront for a long time: in fact, this year it obtained the Certification on Gender Equality issued by the Accredia-accredited certification bodies operating on the basis of the UNI/PdR 125 guidelines. An award that demonstrates Marcolin’s commitment to promoting an inclusive and equitable corporate culture. And the right path to continue down.