Inclusion Week

Coffee in the Dark
Via Röntgen 1, floor – 2
13-14-15 November | 1:00-6:00PM | Free Admissions

REGISTRATION AT THE INCLUSION INFO HUB AND AT THE DESK IN VIA RÖNTGEN 1, FLOOR -2 from 13 November 11:00AM

Enjoy this unique 30-minute experience organized on Campus in partnership with the Istituto dei Ciechi di Milano (Milan Institute for Blind People). You will have the chance to explore a set environment in the total absence of light through your senses. The visit will end with taking a cup of coffee and dialoguing with a visually impaired guide that will walk you  through the whole experience.

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In Other’s People Shoes! - Experiential Tours
Via Sarfatti 25, Inclusion Info Hub (meeting point)
13 November | 3:00-5:30PM |

REGISTRATION AT THE INCLUSION INFO HUB from 13 November 11:00AM

You can experience what it feels to live with motor or visual impairment. You will be led through university buildings on wheelchairs to realize how complex it could be to overcome architectural barriers. Then, blindfolded, you will discover how acoustic Radio Beacons guide blind people across the Campus. Each tour lasts 20 minutes approximately.

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Walk in Counseling
Campus Life Space | Via Bocconi 12
13 November | 2:00-5:30PM
16 November | 8:30AM-5:30PM

FREE ENTRY

Do you wonder what it is like to talk with a counselor? If you are a student, you can take part in a walk-in counseling service that offers informal, confidential consultation with a Bocconi Counselor. You do not need to book an appointment and these meetings usually last about 20 minutes. Counselors can listen to specific problems, help explore solutions, and introduce you to what it is like to speak with a member of the Bocconi counseling service staff.

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Inclusion in Sports
Bocconi Sport Center | Via Sarfatti 10
14 November

REGISTER
SLOT 1: 16.30-18.15
SLOT 2: 18.15-20.00
Attention! The form is available until the 9th of November.

You will have the chance to experience Paralympic sports (such as sitting volley, hand bike, wheelchair basket, showdown ping pong) at the Bocconi Sport Center. The aim of the initiative, organized in partnership with the Tavecchio Foundation, is to understand how to overcome our own limits through sport, competition and fun in order to get a close look at how diversity can be a real opportunity to improve ourselves. Bring your sports outfit!

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Meditation as a Tool for Nurturing Inclusivity
Campus Life Space Mindfulness Area | Via Bocconi 12
16 November | 1:00-2:30PM

REGISTER

SESSION LEADER
ROBERT GRANT, Bocconi University

Meditation can be effective in nurturing inclusivity, first, by countering the anxieties and fears that give rise to isolation and factionalism, second, by cultivating our capacity for openness and love.
In this session you will sample two types of meditation: first, simple relaxation; second, the cultivation of loving kindness (metta) both for ourselves and for others.
The goal of meditation (like most spiritual practices) is to loosen the barrier between ourselves and the outside world – including other human beings. (This is often referred to as overcoming “duality”: the distinction between what is me and what is not me.)
By seeing the “I” (the ego) as something we have constructed for ourselves, we loosen its grip on us, allowing us to engage more fully with others and our world, and to experience the freedom and wisdom that greater openness offers.

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Interfaith Moment
Campus Life Space Mindfulness Area | Via Bocconi 12
16 November | 5:00-5:45PM

REGISTER

Every faith is welcome at Bocconi, people of different nationalities and religions can live and work side by side! Let’s raise our voice for a more inclusive world! Join us for a moment of spiritual connection and exchange with some representatives of our Community of different religions (Buddism, Hinduism, Greek Orthodox, Catholicism, Islam, etc).
Professor Carlo Salvato will introduce the event.

*All seminars are part of the “Broaden Your Frame” Enhancing Activity.

Inclusion Week Opening Seminar
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
10 November | 1:00-2:30PM

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Welcome Address
FRANCESCO BILLARI Rector
PAOLA PROFETA Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability
CARLO SALVATO Dean, Graduate School

Gender Equality and Gender Gaps 

SPEAKER
PAOLA PROFETA Bocconi University

No country in the world has achieved gender equality. According to the last Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economy Forum (2023) gender equality will not be reached before 130 years from today! What are the main obstacles to gender equality? Why we should care? We will discuss why gender equality is a strategic goal. It is beneficial for companies, organizations, the society and the overall economy. It produces outputs, growth, development and performance, it improves the quality of decision-makers, it enriches the agenda. These beneficial consequences are for all. 

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LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Economics and Beyond: The Role of Universities and Professional Associations
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
13 November | 6:15-7:45PM

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SPEAKER
CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER Vanderbilt University, USA

MODERATOR
MASSIMO MORELLI Bocconi University

Why is LGBTQ+ inclusion in economics important? I will describe the history of the American Economic Association’s progress on LGBTQ+ Issues that led to the creation of the Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Economics Profession (CSQIEP), and I will discuss CSQIEP’s core activities in several key areas: increasing visibility, building community, mentoring, and promoting LGBTQ+ economics research. Lessons from cross-institution, cross-country, cross-association, and cross-disciplinary comparisons will be identified, and I will discuss key remaining barriers to progress toward full LGBTQ+ inclusion in economics and beyond.

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Social Aspects of Neurodiversity
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
14 November | 1:00-2:30PM

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SPEAKERS
THEO SMITH Neurodiversity activist
MILENA MILANI Bocconi Counseling Service

MODERATOR
NICOLETTA BALBO Bocconi University

The seminar covers the theme of neurodiversity in three different areas: in the educational context, at work and in the family. Besides presenting definitions of different neurological developmental disorders, the speech will address the topic of how neurodivergent people can create an added value inside the professional world. Finally, a research which describe how the presence of people with disabilities and disorders can affect the family and society will be presented.

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Biases in a Multicultural Environment
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
14 November | 6:15-7:45PM

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SPEAKERS
ALA’ ALRABABAH Bocconi University
BENOÎT HAMON, CEO SINGA Global, former Member of the European Parliament

MODERATOR
CATHERINE DE VRIES Bocconi University

Ala’ Alrababah, whose research focuses on immigration and refugees, authoritarian media, and political violence, will delve into what social science research reveals about the conditions that either enhance or diminish prejudice through interactions with outgroup members. Additionally, he will discuss various experimental and observational studies that demonstrate the impact of such interactions on the development of tolerance.
Benoît Hamon's speech will focus on the global realities of the change in scale of international migration. Public perceptions of migration are at odds with reality everywhere. Changing the migration narrative means first and foremost becoming aware of biases and distortions of perception. The words used by the media to comment on the realities of migration borrow from the lexicon of war and conflict. Changing the narrative of migration also means waging a cultural battle to rehumanize the vocabulary used to talk about people forced into exile.

The session is organized in collaboration with L’Oréal Groupe.

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Evidence Based Coexistence of Differences: Reflections on Meaning and Importance of the Universal/Inclusive Language
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
15 November | 6:15-7:45PM

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SPEAKER
VERA GHENO University of Florence

MODERATOR
SILVIA CINQUE SDA Bocconi School of Management

Vera Gheno, who has collaborated with Accademia della Crusca for 20 years, in her speech will address the use of “proper words” and the idea of a language which evolves in parallel with reality. The meeting with the expert of the so called “linguaggio ampio”, broad language, will be an unmissable chance to spread awareness on cultural biases and increase our individual and collective commitment towards inclusive communication.

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The Labor Market Effects of Disability Hiring Quotas
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
16 November | 6:15-7:45PM

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SPEAKER
CHRISTIANE SZERMAN University College London

MODERATOR
GIULIA GIUPPONI Bocconi University

People with disabilities are underemployed across the world. With the goal of increasing their representation, more than 100 countries have established quota regulations requiring firms to hire people with disabilities. We will talk about the implications of enforcing modest disability hiring quotas for workers and firms. Using the introduction of a reform in Brazil that enhanced enforcement of a new hiring quota regulation, market-level analysis finds that people with disabilities in local labor markets more exposed to the reform experienced larger increases in employment and earnings. Using the compliance decision of firms to the quota, it is estimated that the marginal worker with disabilities hired under the quota has a marginal revenue product close to their wage. Through the lens of a model of enforcement of hiring quotas with imperfect compliance, we will see that the policy generates aggregate welfare gains. My findings demonstrate that, in labor markets under imperfect competition, mandating modest increases in employment for the disadvantaged can promote redistribution and improve welfare.

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The inclusion of LGBTI+ persons and racial/ethnic minorities in OECD countries: Challenges, achievements, and way forward
Aula Franceschi | Via Sarfatti 25
17 November | 1:00-2:30PM

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SPEAKER
MARIE-ANNE VALFORT OECD

MODERATOR
PAOLO PINOTTI Bocconi University

This presentation will provide an overview of the OECD’s work on the inclusion of LGBTI+ persons and racial/ethnic minorities. It will first investigate the life situation of these minorities by discussing recent estimates of their size, exploring the extent to which these populations face disadvantages in the labor market, and assessing how they fare in other areas, including in terms of well-being as well as mental and physical health. The presentation will then examine the laws and policies that are viewed as critical to achieve equality for LGBTI+ persons and racial/ethnic minorities, while also analyzing their implementation across OECD countries. The presentation will conclude by presenting promising avenues for future research to foster the inclusion of LGBTI+ persons and racial/ethnic minorities, in OECD countries and beyond.