Innovation. The magic word everyone loves to say out loud, preferably on a stage, rarely with a clear idea of what it means. Because real innovation is not just about technology, AI or valuations, but must embrace culture too. Or am I wrong?
A thought I already explored in my article The 99 most influential women in global agrifood-tech.
A cultural matter
Speaking of foodtech: can a panel on alternative proteins with five men on stage be called innovative? Not at all.
Now flip the coin: can a panel on alternative proteins with five women on stage be called innovative? Probably not either. But as a deliberate act of rebalancing or, better, of defiance, it is more than welcome.
So why not build a panel with three genders and five nationalities? A chimera? Maybe. But let's stay positive.
"Despite the enormous steps made in recent years, the path to gender parity is still long. And the modern discourse around it deserves more honesty.
Tools like female quotas give us a comfortable illusion: that a numerical fix can substitute for a cultural shift. They look progressive on the surface. But I'd argue they're often used to sweep the dust under the rug; a coercive act dressed up as enlightenment. Checking a box is not the same as changing a mindset."
The numbers of the gender gap
Numbers, though, are stubborn.
In the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, Italy ranks 85th out of 148 countries. On economic participation and opportunity it slips to 117th: last among the 27 EU member states.
According to Eurostat, 58% of Italian women aged 20 to 64 were employed in 2025, against an EU average of 71.3%. The gap with Italian men is 19 percentage points, twice the European average. Again, last in Europe.
And innovation? Women lead 13.8% of Italian innovative startups: 1,684 out of 12,170. Across Europe, all-female founding teams receive about 2% of venture capital, while 82% goes to all-male teams.
The field is a little kinder. Women run about one Italian farm in four, and almost one in three in olive growing.
So the talent is there. The ecosystem is just not looking at it.
Given all this, does an article built on "female quotas" sound like nonsense? Absolutely. And yet, two and a half years later, I felt the need to turn back to my own country, from a different angle.
A (mini) methodology
Unlike the global edition of the 99 women, the Italian one didn't need an elaborate methodology: the list practically wrote itself. Just three rules, inherited from its older sister.
- One woman per company. No team photos, no corporate delegations. One name, one story.
- A minimum of LinkedIn presence. If you are shaping an ecosystem, the ecosystem should be able to find you. And the project behind the name must show signs of life too: a silent website or a startup that went quiet a year ago doesn't count.
- No primadonnas. No celebrity chefs, no TV faces. The spotlight already knows where they live; this list looks where it doesn't.
And this time there is a +1. She is not (yet) an influential woman in Italian food&tech. She is here as a wish.
Alexandra FrechexFarm Technologies
Bringing data to the field, one farm at a time. With a French touch
Arianna CattaneoConsorzio Italbiotec
Turning food science into projects that companies can actually use
Camilla RoccaFreelance
A real storyteller of global food. Because innovation is also communication.
Carlotta Robbe Di LorenzoBestie Bite
Taking on T***A******* with short videos, from Rome to San Francisco
Chiara NasiCIR food
Feeding millions, one canteen at a time, with a wink to innovation and sustainability
Francesca CappelliniCappellini Lab Vegetale
Putting veggies at the center of the Italian plate, through technology.
Francesca VarvelloHeallo
A beer that keeps blood sugar in check, and food waste that gets a second life
Sabrina FiorentinoSestre
Three sisters from Puglia, rethinking women's wellbeing through nature and science
Sharon CittoneEdible Planet Ventures
The Italian food innovation pioneer. Building the bridges that let food innovation travel
What about the +1?
Luna-Sophie IannoneTheFoodCons
She is my daughter. She has just taken her first steps in food&tech, between content, calendars and projects that change shape every Monday. She is not here for what she has done, but for what she might do. Call it a father's bias. I call it a bet. And let me be clear: I won't push her an inch. Food&tech is my path; hers is hers to choose. Wherever she ends up, I hope someone else will be writing her headline.
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