How the Women in Lighting project enhances the talents of female professionals in lighting design.

Light shapes spaces and brings environments to life. Behind the design of innovative lighting systems are experienced professionals: lighting designers. In an industry historically dominated by male figures, today women are increasingly gaining visibility and authority.

Interni magazine reports on the Women in Lighting project, launched in 2018 with the aim of enhancing women’s contributions in the field of lighting. The international initiative involves 77 female ambassadors in 50 countries, including Italy. The goal is twofold: on the one hand to create role models and references for the new generations, and on the other to make the professionalism of lighting designers known to the general public.

As Giorgia Brusemini, Italian ambassador of Women in Lighting, explains, creating an online database with video interviews with female professionals in the field helps provide content for articles and identify speakers for conferences and events. But that’s not all: sharing experiences and expertise in an international network is a way to empower oneself, gain awareness of one’s value and overcome gender stereotypes.

In Italy the figure of the lighting designer does not yet have full recognition, despite illustrious precedents such as Castiglioni and Magistretti. Often the work of lighting design is confused with generic setting. That is why popularizing the skills of those who shape light with technical and aesthetic sensitivity is crucial to affirming a profession.

Through training and networking initiatives, Women in Lighting Italia aims to create a more open and meritocratic environment.The hope is that enhancing female talent in lighting can lay the groundwork for new forms of collaboration and leadership, benefiting the entire industry.

The challenge is to achieve a gender balance that accelerates cultural change.Because the future of lighting needs the creativity and expertise of everyone, women and men. Innovation-conscious lighting companies cannot overlook the potential of female professionals who shap

Foto credits: Sarah Elise Sartore (Evento Women in Lighting italy, Spazio Rossana Orlandi)