Italy’s Women Battle ‘Take My Coat’ Culture in Bid for Top Jobs

For Cristina Scocchia, the coats tell the story. Long before the 50-year-old took over as chief executive officer of Italy’s Illycaffe, she was CEO at another firm when a group of male visitors arrived for a meeting and proceeded to hand her their coats, assuming she was someone’s assistant.

Italy has progressed since then. But the coffee maker’s chief says gender bias and stereotypes still hamper progress for the country’s female executives, reflecting a corporate landscape where women hold just a handful of the top jobs.

“I am always the exotic CEO,” Scocchia said in an interview for Bloomberg’s ...