Looking at the winners of the 38th edition of the “Women who make the difference” award, promoted by the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, which will be held on 27 June, the real question that emerges is: Who are the women who are driving change today?
For years we have talked about quotas, glass ceilings, access to top roles. Today those women sit at the top of companies, direct the most important international editorial offices, lead trade unions, represent governments, transform welfare, healthcare, research and even the Church. The question is no longer whether they can get there. The question is how power, work and society are changing.
This year too, the Bellisario brings together extraordinary figures: from the Olympic legend Arianna Fontana to Sister Nathalie Becquart, from the Emirati minister Reem Al Hashimy to the general secretary of the CISL Daniela Fumarola, up to female entrepreneurs, managers and social protagonists who are redefining models of leadership and success.
The 2026 winners
· Arianna Fontana (Sport): she is the most medal-winning Italian athlete in the history of the Winter Olympic Games and one of the world’s greatest performers of short track. It stood out for its ability to remain at the top international levels for over fifteen years. His career is also the story of an extraordinary personal and sporting resilience, built through sacrifice, discipline and the continuous ability to reinvent himself at the highest levels.
· Valentina Pellegrini (Entrepreneurship): President and CEO of the Pellegrini Group since 2025, leads the main Italian group in the catering and integrated services sector. She is also the creator of the Ernesto Pellegrini Onlus Foundation, active in supporting people in economic and social difficulty.
· Alessandra Galloni (Information): Editor-in-chief of Reuters since 2021, she is the first woman in 170 years of history to lead the famous British news agency. He has built a prestigious international journalistic career, also working for a long time at the Wall Street Journal.
· Reem Al Hashimy (International): Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, she was the Director General who successfully led Expo 2020 Dubai. In 2022, she became the first Emirati woman to address the United Nations General Assembly.
· Daniela Fumarola (Institutions): Elected General Secretary of the CISL in 2025, she boasts a long trade union career that began in 1987 in defense of agricultural workers. Over the years he has held top positions at a territorial, regional level and finally in the national confederal secretariat.
· Elisabetta Colacchia (Management): Head of People & Organization of the Enel Group since 2023, he has a solid managerial career behind him in sectors such as energy, infrastructure and transport. He has held management and governance roles in companies of the caliber of Itabus, Telecom Italia and Terna.
· Sister Nathalie Becquart (Religion): Appointed Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops by Pope Francis in 2021, she is the first woman to have obtained the right to vote in the Synod. His path combines advanced studies in business, sociology and theology with a long experience of volunteering and mission.
· Raffaella Pannuti (Health): Since 2011 he has been President of the ANT Franco Pannuti ETS Foundation, the largest organization in Italy for free home care for cancer patients. She is the author of numerous works on palliative care and was awarded by the Senate for her commitment during the Covid emergency.
· Francesca Sofia (Social): General Director of the CDP Foundation since 2022 and President of the International Bureau for Epilepsy, she is a molecular biologist with extensive experience in healthcare and non-profit management. During his career he has managed investments and biomedical research for major bodies such as the Telethon Foundation.
