Each year Fortune magazine draws up a list of the 500 most important CEOs worldwide, and, unfortunately, it includes only 23 women. The gender gap is striking, and if we look at the policy brief of July from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the situation is definitely worrying: in 2021, “there will be 13 million women fewer in employment as compared with 2019, while male employment figures will have returned to the levels of 2019. Even though the growth in employment rates of women will overtake that of men in 2021, it will still not be enough to restore women’s employment rates to the pre-pandemic level. Globally, only 43.2% of women of working age will be in employment in 2021, as compared with 68.6% of men”.
What is the situation in the optical/eyewear industry?
Certainly the gap exists, but it’s encouraging to see that some successful businesswomen are still firmly at the head of their companies, despite Covid-19.
In the USA, for example, Sheila Vance, who created Sama Eyewear at the end of the Nineties, is still holding on to the reins. As well as being one of the first designers to create avant-garde eyewear, Sheila also runs a charitable project for the Sam Vance Foundation, set up in 1997 in memory of her son, who passed away prematurely due to drug addiction-related issues.
Another virtuous example isthat of Barbara McReynolds and Gai Gherardi, who launched what is possibly the funkiest eyewear brand, l.a.Eyeworks, in Los Angeles in 1979. Their mission? Encouraging people to stop looking and start seeing.
In Italy, the cradle of the eyewear world, we have various examples of women leading companies in the field. Let’s start with Cristina Guglielmino, CEO of Lud’o, the Milan company that has produced Eyepetizer glasses since 2014, with its range of frames in dynamic colours. In recent years, the brand’s expansion strategy has diversified and intensified, with a single brand retail project.
Further proof of this global trend in the eyewear world comes from architect Lara d’Alpaos, one of the protagonists in futuristic creations with Italian brand Lara D’ since 2010.
There’s a brave new entry, Silvia Fresco, very young and making her debut with the sunglasses brand In Sana.
When talking about prominent women in Italian eyewear, we cannot fail to mention Barbara De Rigo, Chief Marketing Officer of the iconic company owned by her family, De Rigo.
The female quota in Italy can be found also in the world of contact lenses, and has been nobly represented since 2011 by Tereza Uhrova, founder of Qualimed, manufacturer of the colour contact lenses brand Desìo. This company is enjoying a positive period, and is preparing to move to its new headquarters covering a floorspace of over 3,000 sq m.
At the apex of industry, we can also find Barbara Ossani, CEO of Esavision Technology, exclusive distributor in Italy of ESA lenses for orthokeratology and ophthalmic tools by some well-known brands. Another area of business is training of eyecare professionals regarding vision and other related fields.
Ph: Maria Chiara Visentin
Finally, regarding instruments, we mention: Maria Chiara Visentin, co-founder of Bludata Informatica, one of the leading companies in Italy in the supply of software and IT services for optician stores; Francesca Paolini, partner and member of the board of directors of R.O.M. spa as well as Chief of Marketing for this company that exclusively distributes the brands Nidek and Oculus in Italy, while producing on-site a series of manual grinders that are retailed across Europe.
Ph: Susan-Stefanie Breitkopf
Moving on to Germany, we find Marion Frost, who enchanted the industry in 1996 with eyewear brand Frost, founded together with her husband Paris, and lawyer Susan-Stefanie Breitkopf who, since September 2021, has been Chief of Corporate Human Resources for the ZEISS Group.
Finally, further proof of excellence among female businesswomen can be found in France, with Amélie Morel, who leads the historic family company Morel, together with her brothers. Amélie is also Chairperson of the Silmo trade fair.
So, these and other virtuous examples lead us to think and hope that female empowerment in our sector may continue and grow even stronger.