25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and to celebrate it we are showing a video in which a number of Syncro System employees were selected to tell their stories. The brief documentary was made by students of the ITS Digital Academy in Cittadella, in the province of Padova, as part of their “Crossmedia Communication Specialists” course.
The video interviews seven women as part of a project entitled “Breaking the silence, building the future”, and reflects on the role of women in contexts that are culturally and traditionally considered as the exclusive domains of men. The narrator introduces and comments on the stories shared in complete sincerity by a group of women metalworkers.
Syncro System was selected as a particularly interesting case since our sector – the metalworking industry – serves a predominantly male public and almost exclusively employs men. There are, of course, exceptions… As far back as the 1960s, before Francom became Syncro System, Maria Menon, affectionately known as “Maria the Mechanic”, played an essential role in the company. Maria was the wife of Francesco Comunello, our company’s founder, and mother of Luca, now company president, Adamo, now production manager, and Bibiana.
“After the sudden death of my father in a road accident,” Luca explains, “my mother took the company under her wing. I was only 19 at the time. My brother and sister and I gave her all the support we could, but she was the one who held the reins and ran the company with incredible strength and determination. Her dedication to the company and her family was a great example for us all. She taught us fundamental values like always doing what is right rather than just imitating others, always behaving correctly towards others and never taking short-cuts.”
Today, Syncro System employs 100 people and has 8 racking centres in Italy and an international network of dealers. Real growth lies in the ability to encourage the talent and commitment of everybody, irrespective of gender.
This is emphasised by Maria’s grand-daughter, Alessia, who now heads the human resources department: “Innovation and continuous improvement are key values for us, but people are even more important. Our success depends on the talent and commitment of everybody who works with us. We are proud to be a company that attributes a central role to employees, listening to them and creating stimulating work environment in which everybody can grow.”
The video, made by students of a local technical institute, has been received with great enthusiasm not only because it celebrates the contribution made by women to industry today, but also because it sends a clear message to future generations: the courage to choose your own path in life must be supported by a society that recognises the value of all talent, irrespective of gender, if we are to build a more equal and meritocratic world.