labour income inequality : evidence from italy ”, bank of italy occasional papers series, n. 606, 2021. this important topic. his contributions to the literature on the impact of technology on the labour market and on inequality have set milestones in these fields. while new technologies can affect welfare and inequality, requiring a reaction from labour market institutions and policies, the latter can in turn have an important influence on the adoption of technologies. a few papers in the programme discuss this interplay. one shows that improving the quality of worker - job matching, including through well - designed institutions and labour law reforms, is crucial to unlocking the economic gains of innovation. 2 another paper shows that unions play an important role in technology adoption : their actions reduce the negative effects of technology on workers and can even improve the quality of the technology in which firms invest3 ( today ’ s opening paper, also about unions, confirms that they negotiate over different job characteristics, not just about money ). 4 another paper to be presented this morning shows that digital technology can also improve occupational training and skills acquisition, and ultimately promote the adoption of new technology itself. 5 digitalization has also enabled the rapid and massive shift to remote working triggered by the pandemic. employees benefit from reduced commuting time and costs, more flexible daily schedules, and a better work - life balance. firms can reap significant cost savings from reduced need for office space, and can achieve better job - matches by potentially recruiting from a larger pool of candidates, as physical proximity is no longer indispensable. but there could be a dark side of these visible benefits : in the medium to long term, the changes in interactions patterns among colleagues brought about by remote working could have unwanted and hard - to - identify effects on productivity, innovation and even mental well - being. working from home also poses challenges for firms in terms of adapting management practices and incentivising employees. 6 research on these effects is hampered by the relative novelty of the phenomenon, but it will become very relevant to private and public decision - makers as soon as availability of good quality data makes it possible. let me now turn to the issue of rising inequalities. the pandemic has exacerbated deep - seated inequalities – in income, access to health care, job security, and opportunities. unequal societies tend to be more prone to economic inefficiencies and political instability, and the two are likely to reinforce each other.

women are less likely to be in top positions within firms, and gender quotas can be of help in this respect. in 2021 the bank of italy did its part. we used our regulatory powers to introduce a gender quota for the top management of all italian banks, following the italian law on gender balance for listed companies. let me add another bit of self - promotion. the research department of the bank has been particularly active in studying gender gaps. last year we presented and published the results of a major project looking at various aspects of women ’ s experience in the italian labour market. 9 one of our key findings, to be presented in this workshop, is that gender gaps are already large at the point of entry into the labour market. 10 educational choices, already in high school, are key to explaining much of these gaps. women tend to avoid stem subjects, which – also because of the digital revolution – tend to be more remunerative. let me tell you an anecdote about this. since 2008, the bank of italy has been funding an annual prize for high school students who excel in mathematics and information technology. students ’ participation in the contest is voluntary, and the selection process is entirely conducted by the schools. over 17 years, the prize has been awarded to 340 students. g. peri and c. sparber, “ task specialization, immigration, and wages ”, american economic journal : applied economics, 2009 ; g. basso and g. peri, “ internal mobility : the greater responsiveness of foreign - born to economic conditions ”, journal of economic perspectives, 2020 ; g. barone and s. mocetti, “ with a little help from abroad : the effect of low - skilled immigration on the female labour supply ”, labour economics, 2011. p. mahajan, n. morales, k. shih, a. brinatti and m. chen, “ the impact of immigration on firms and workers : insights from the h - 1b lottery ”, iza dp no. 16917. f. carta, m. de philippis, l. rizzica and e. viviano, “ women, labour markets and economic growth ”, bank of italy workshops and conferences, 26, 2023. g. bovini, m. de philippis and l. rizzica, “ the origins of gender wage gaps : the role of school to work transition ”, bank of italy working paper series, forthcoming. the