The popularity of Chiara Ferragni’s entrepreneurial model declines even among very young people. If previously, invited to name the names of female entrepreneurs, that of the founder of TBS Crew, Chiara Ferragni Brand and Sisterhood was always among the first (and few) and was indicated as a successful model to be inspired by, now, after the Pandoro case and the ongoing investigation for aggravated fraud, things seem to be changing. Ferragni’s name is still indicated, but the boys do not spare criticism, defining his «ephemeral» project.
This is explained by a survey carried out by Objective Effe, a female empowerment project created byUniversity of Milan-Bicoccawhich offers girls between 16 and 18 a free summer camp for female entrepreneurship and finance education. The initiative, entitled Effe Summer Camp, will take place in Milan from 10 to 15 June 2024. The training course includes 60 places: applications must be submitted by 12 April 2024 on the website of the University of Milan Bicocca.
In the survey, which involved 502 students, including 236 girls and was closed in November 2023therefore before the Pandoro case, Chiara Ferragni was indicated as a positive model. Among other names, Miuccia Pradaindicated in the same percentage as Ferragni, then in smaller percentages Martina Strazzer, Marina Salamon, Kylie Jenner, Camilla Clemente, Coco Chanel. If you ask boys and girls to name entrepreneurs, there are male names at the top, Bezos and Musk above all. Then with increasing detachment Zuckerberg, Armani, Briatore, Ferrero. After the research, focus groups were created. It is from here that it emerges that adolescents often do not know women entrepreneurs and in any case they imagine them as women in helmets: «To be an entrepreneur, a woman must be tough and determined, otherwise they would put their feet on her head». Here the criticisms of Ferragni also emerged. To the question: What do you think of her today? Answers arrive such as «I don’t particularly respect her, since she based all her fortune on the ephemeral aspects of life», «For me she is not the best entrepreneur of yesterday, today or tomorrow», «I think that too much popularity was hiding a certain falsehood.”
«In our previous research Chiara Ferragni was one of the few model entrepreneurs cited spontaneously by teenagerswith Miuccia Pradacompared to a long list of male names, from Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg and Giorgio Armani – explains Emanuela Rinaldi, creator of the project and professor of Sociology of cultural processes at the University of Milan-Bicocca -. A recognition that fell after the “Pandoro case”, significantly impoverishing the female aspirational universe, which is one of the factors that influence the entrepreneurial attitude among young women.”
Effe Summer Camp is a training course that combines theoretical lessons with practical exercises, games and testimonies from entrepreneurs. The path is part of the Objective Effe project (Financial Education for a Fairer Future), dedicated to female empowerment, born in May 2023 within the Department of Economic-Business Sciences and Law for the Economy of Bicocca, and is recognized such as Pcto (Paths for transversal skills and orientation). The partner organizations include the Feduf Foundation, Junior Achievement Italia, Api-Association of small and medium-sized enterprises and other third sector entities.
