It was 2012. After returning to work from her second maternity leave in three years, Riccarda Zezza discovered that her employer had removed her from former position and transferred her to another department. Zezza had worked at large companies across Europe for 20 years. She felt like she was being forced to give up her career, just because she’d had a child.

“I experienced, in the flesh, all the problems women can face when they decide to have children,” Zezza told Believe.Earth. “Before then, the companies I had worked for as a manager had invested time and money into improving my interpersonal skills. I was trained in crisis management, listening skills and empathy. Women on maternity  leave are being trained in these skills naturally, and at a deeper level.”

That realization inspired her to create Piano C (Plan C). The name is meant to evoke an alternative to “Plan A,” dedicated career life, and “Plan B,” a commitment to family at the expense of career. The organization provides a shared office space for mothers in Milan to gather, compare their experiences, work on collaborative projects, and develop skills, during and after their maternity leaves.

“We offer co-working with cobaby,” said Zezza, “a shared space with an attached daycare center and toy library for children from 0 to 10, with a babysitting service and pedagogic and psychological supervision.”

“We offer training, access to professional networking, instant commercial connections, and visibility,” she contineus. “At Piano C, motherhood is a viable choice, and the opportunity to have a career is based on only one criterion: merit.”

Zezza found, in neuroscience, evidence for what her intuition had suggested. For parents, the period following a baby’s birth is characterized by the potential for great changes to the brain, specifically, rapid growth in areas associated with parental behavior.

“As with any experience of drastic change, motherhood and fatherhood can be potentially transformative,” said Zezza. “It’s like a natural gym in which to train relationship, organizational and innovation skills. These skills are valuable to any professional and are highly sought after by companies.”

Zezza’s experience with Piano C led her to create Maternity as a Master (MAAM), that accompanies the person before, during and after the birth of a child: it’s a support in the management of the ongoing changes as well as a guide to transform the experience of parenthood in a gym of skills that are also useful at work; through the exchange and comparison with other parents, the participants reinforce their own learning and find answers to different subject matters: from work to private life. Zezza also created a digital tool, called maam U, that helps mothers plan for their maternity leaves and connects them with other women in the same situation.”

Zezza sat down with Believe.Earth to discuss her career and the initiatives she’s launched.

Believe.Earth (BE) – How would you describe the current situation for women who choose to become mothers in Italy? What needs to change?
Riccarda Zezza (RZ) – Women are scared and, unfortunately, that’s for good reason. They feel penalized for becoming mothers and abandoned by Italian society. To start, we should highlight the problem’s true dimensions and create a campaign to spread awareness and denounce abuses.

“We should argue that something valuable is being lost, both in human and economic terms, that the current approach damages the entire country’s development. Every woman should seek out allies and role models who inspire her to hold her head high and fight back. They don’t have to choose between being mothers and being full citizens, economically independent and professionally fulfilled.”

BE – Today, only 10% of the participants in Piano C are men. What do you make of that number?
RZ – Fathers are an integral part of the Piano C community. The right to experience parenting should be universal. Many obstacles, cultural, social and economic, keep men from having that opportunity. Child rearing as a common, necessary and vital good and should be seen as a priority, as an investment that strengthens society. According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), children develop better if their fathers are intimately involved in raising them. Another study, by Population Research and Policy Review, showed that nations where parents share childcare duties have higher average birth rates, all else being equal. An analysis published in the magazine Diritto e questioni pubbliche indicated that sharing childcare duties reduces gender disparities, both in terms of employment and salary, and in terms of women’s career progress. And, a brief report by the Council on Contemporary Families makes clear that sharing childcare duties increases the involvement of fathers in all domestic activities and improves couples’ relationships. Fathers also deserve a Master’s in fatherhood. The practice of fatherhood develops interpersonal and leadership skills, qualities that are highly valued by companies.

BE How does MAAM seek to close the gender gap?
RZ – The cultural element, the belief that “they will not manage it,” convinces many women to avoid the experience of motherhood, already sure that they will have to put their professional lives aside. There’s also the lack of child support services, the lack of flexible work hours, and the uneven division of labor within couples. It’s a complex problem. MAAM focuses on changing this culture. But there is much more to be done on many other levels.

BE How can businesses benefit from this paradigm shift?
RZ – In early childhood parenting, businesses should see a gym for the development of human capital. Studies of over 2,000 women and men involved in MAAM’s digital program show that parents’ professional skills grow significantly following the birth of their children. They show a 15 percent improvement in managing change, a 16 percent improvement in solving complex problems, a 22 percent improvement in judgement and decision making, a 23 percent improvement in networking skills, a 31 percent increase in time and priority management performance, and a 35 percent improvement in delegating and collaborating, on average. But parents bring many other benefits to businesses, such as improved morale, improved brand reputation, an increased ability to attract young talent, and great team cohesion.

BE How many businesses have taken part in the project’s workshops to date?
RZ – Between 2013 and 2015, over 30 companies from Italy and Europe have. Only 18 months after the rollout of our digital program, 20 businesses have joined, representing 2,000 in 201 cities around the world.

Riccarda Zezza is an Ashoka fellow. Ashoka is a worldwide organization present in 84 countries and leads a movement in which any individual can be responsible for positive social transformation.