Federica Segato: “Women, don’t be afraid to dream big”

At just 24 she became one pioneer of women’s networking in Italy. Federica Segato, a degree in Germanic languages ​​in the drawer and a LinkedIn profile among the most followed in our country, after some experiences between startups and agencies, he realized that “my path was not the traditional one”. And so, first she decided to become a freelance, then an entrepreneur, and finally to found, in 2019, Career Leadhers, with the aim of «creating a meeting point for all those who wish to improve and grow professionally».

And which today has more than 30 thousand members, including the chef Antonia Klugmann and Chiara Ferragni.

What does this actually mean?
«In Career Leadhers there are two areas: a free one of networking, in which the members exchange views and help, e a more formative than e-learning, in which professionals from various sectors hold courses on how to enter the world of work or reinvent a job, how to become freelancers, fill out a CV correctly, ask for a salary increase, etc … “

Requirements to enter Career Leadhers?
“Nobody. It’s about a community che ssupports all women, regardless of their profession and age. At the beginning they told me that I was crazy not to put any stakes, to no longer be “sectoral”, but I didn’t want to leave anyone behind ».

It means that in Career Leadhers do both the babysitter and the manager find space?
“Exactly, and the strength lies precisely in this. Because anyone always finds an answer, a person willing to help. From March 2019 to today we are over 30 thousand, I can say I was right ».

Age of the members?
«The majority are 25-30 years old. But there are also younger girls and women aged 50 to 60 ».

And then there is her, Federica, also very young.
“It all started in 2018, when on LinkedIn I started sharing stories of women who had made it, because I myself was looking for models and inspiration. Gradually I saw that around these posts a group of loyal fans was created and so I decided to found my own community ».

She publishes a post every day about a successful woman: it would seem that women don’t have so much difficulty emerging, then.
“Much depends on the areas: in the United States there are more success stories, because there the environment stimulates startups and entrepreneurship more. In Italy, the environment is more unfavorable, but awareness is increasing: regardless of what is out there, women go to get what they want. Anyone can do it regardless of external conditions: the opportunity often has to be created ”.

Are the limits above all “personal” in your opinion?
“The environment does not help and does not support, especially in this period, given that Covid has exacerbated some already difficult situations. But sometimes the difficulties are dictated by a basic insecurity: women still have to learn to believe in themselves. To dream big. Our goal is to stimulate and help the self-esteem of each one ».

Self-esteem and also female solidarity, which always seems a bit of a chimera.
«I am convinced that it is the environment that determines the lack of support among women. A positive environment stimulates the ability to be supportive for one another. Career Leadhers it is an example, we have created a beautiful environment ».

Tell us three women to watch in 2021 in your opinion.
«Whitney Wolfe, former co-founder of Tinder who launched the new dating app Bumble, where are women to choose who to hang out with and who should go public this year; Melanie Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Canva, she too soon on the stock exchange; finally Daphne Koller, founder of Coursera, the major e-learning platform: she was a teacher who tried to keep the courses she taught at Stanford online for free: in a very short time she had thousands of subscribers and she understood that by doing so she could bring anywhere, and to anyone, the high-level education. I think that many women can be stimulated by the stories of these three entrepreneurs who are so different from each other ».