For an egalitarian present and future !

“Alessandra Milano joined the ORPEA Group at the beginning of its establishment in Italy, in 2007, after having worked as animator and then facility manager for another group of retirement homes.
For ORPEA she took over the management of one of its first two residences in Italy, precisely in Borgaro, in the Turin area.
At that time everything was still to be implemented.
After few years spent in the field, she was transferred to the Headquarters covering the role of Purchasing Manager first and then Quality Manager.

After commuting for a few years at the Milan headquarters, family reasons led her to ask the management to return to the field, in a facility close to home.
So, for five years, she worked in one of the Group’s Rehabilitation clinics, dealing with both the administrative aspects of admissions and the necessary accreditations for the types of activities of the clinic itself.

In 2017, she came back to the headquarters, in fact, the operational knowledge on one hand and the management knowledge of the sector on the other, make her the ideal candidate for the organization of the development service, dealing with market research and regulations.
The expansion of the Group in Italy is constant and continuous, the various and wide competences acquired by Alessandra in her professional career, mainly in ORPEA, allow the Group to expand its business in Italy, to the point of requiring a greater structuring of the service. Today Alessandra is Strategy Development Manager.

What are the main difficulties you have encountered?

I particularly remember the difficulty of having to leave a piece of my heart in every place I worked. Saying goodbye to my colleagues and my work habits to start over elsewhere

Is being a woman in your career path an advantage or a handicap?

The generally more “feminine” components of her character have always made it easier for her to work in teams .Her innate predisposition for helpfulness, kindness, benevolence and listening as social skills that set her apart.

Work-life balance is a very important commitment to respect the balance of society

Her secret has always been to not lose heart and optimize time: during train trips, for example, she would prepare lyrics for her children’s end-of-year recitals or study songs for her evening rock choir, trying to turn every aspect, perhaps difficult of her work moment, into a productive opportunity!

What advice would she give to women?

Consider every change as an opportunity to renew and enrich yourself and always do things with care and dedication because years later, everything that was done well remains and can be useful to everyone.
Also, it seems like a small thing, but it’s not: being able to find at least 5 minutes a day for yourself..

What are your personal commitments to women’s rights?

Over the years, Alessandra has always been involved in volunteer work to support women with the greatest difficulties: with the Centro di Aiuto alla Vita (Help for Life Center) that supports young mothers in socially fragile situations who find themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy; with the Missionary Group that supports African women through the micro-credit mechanism that allows them to become autonomous by helping them to start a small business. And finally, with the rock choir of which she is a member, with which she sings to support the Associazione L’Altra Riva Onlus whose aim is to fight violence between people, often the one that hides within the walls of the house”.
Every opportunity to support the less fortunate is embraced by you with passion and determination.

What are your dreams for tomorrow’s world for young women?

That every mother teaches her children to respect others, all others, so that tomorrow adult men will be able to respect everyone, including women.

I would also like to see more attention paid to the needs of mothers in every workplace. Work-life balance is a very important commitment to respect the balance of society