She has been married for ten years to Guido Maria Brera, has two children, Guido Alberto and Cora, aged 12 and 7, and a career in the world of entertainment that began with third place at Miss Italia in 1999 and continued over the years up to the current management of The right time on Rai1: Caterina Balivo’s life, like that of many women, is divided between family and work, themes that she addressed in an interview with Courier focused on the commitment to the rights of women and equal opportunities. Because – Balivo observed – “Even in the world of entertainment there is a lot to do”.
“On paper, equal pay is already there, but then for example it stops when women stop pregnant, which clearly doesn’t happen to men. A lot of work would need to be done here. A bit like what was done with I didn’t like the long-opposed female quotas either: but it’s a good thing that there are now councilors on the boards and it’s a very good thing if I ask myself: how many CEOs are there? we could expand: how many directors are there in the newspapers? And I could go on…” said the presenter, certain that she will never be able to give up her independence for her children.
“I would never leave work for my children, even though I love them very much. During Covid I took a step back and stayed at home to keep the family balanced and when I returned to work it was complicated”, said the presenter who experienced the problem almost first-hand thanks to the experiences of women very close to her. “My friends and also my doctor sister relied on grandparents or nannies for the first years of their children’s lives, if they could afford it, but the turning point came from my friend Margherita who can count on a nursery within the “Le Molinette hospital. A single, off-site mother, she would not have had the same career if she had not been supported in the workplace. There must be more nursery schools and schools guaranteed for all.”
Caterina Balivo, her husband recounts their first meeting: “I liked her straight away. I wrote her a letter”
“My children experience me as an independent woman”
What is the approach that Caterina Balivo uses regarding the topic of the gender gap and raising children? “I bother a lot so that they become good people and can do the work they love”, she explained: “My children see me as an independent woman, and I’m happy about this. The little girl cries because I don’t pick her up from school and I – without guilt – tell her “Mom works”. If she replies: “So you prefer work to me?”, I explain to her that mom simply has different schedules and can’t be out of school I think about it carefully, I realize that to her, and only to her, not to the male, I often say “stay calm, don’t raise your voice” as if culturally women should stay quiet, without being a nuisance. And this is wrong. How wrong it is that often among us women we don’t talk about money: we have to start reading the economic pages more, or we won’t even be able to ask for a raise.” As for the television environment, Balivo observed that it doesn’t seem so different from others: “I don’t understand why women can’t host quizzes like men. I will always be grateful to Andrea Salerno, director of La7, who made me host a quiz It was a wonderful experience. Even in our world there is still a long way to go in my program. I would like it to be more female television taste more similar to mine”.
