Although women hold a significantly higher proportion of management positions in the Third Sector than in the for-profit sector, a substantial gender gap still exists in senior leadership roles within the Italian Third Sector. While women represent approximately **67%** of the workforce and men **33%**, the distribution is almost reversed at executive level, where only **30–40%** of leadership positions are held by women, compared with **60–70%** by men. These figures highlight:

• A values-based contradiction that the sector increasingly recognises as needing to be addressed.
• An underutilisation of talent: research shows that organisations led by women tend to adopt more inclusive and responsible leadership approaches, generating positive impacts on both internal performance and external outcomes.
• A growing reputational risk and a declining appeal among younger generations—who are increasingly attentive to gender equality and may perceive the Third Sector as outdated, dominated by older white men—as well as among women with strong leadership aspirations.
• An incomplete level of gender equality, resulting in fewer opportunities for women and a greater burden of stress, compromise and personal sacrifice.

For these reasons, there is an urgent need for a coordinated, system-wide initiative capable of restoring greater balance and coherence. Since January 2025, we have therefore launched a dialogue with the leading organisations in the Italian Third Sector and with representatives of the Italian feminist movement. The concept of management and leadership promoted by this initiative is grounded in established research in social psychology—particularly **transformational leadership**, **situational leadership**, and **shared leadership**—rather than in ideological approaches, such as the concept of *feminist leadership*. While the latter draws on transformational and distributed leadership models, it is not recognised as a distinct scientific leadership theory.