Women’s Legacy in Futures Studies – Nov. 25, 2025

On Tuesday, 25 November 2025, during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, an inspiring online workshop took place as part of the festival “L’eredità delle donne 2025”, co-organized by the Italian Institute for the Future Foundation, the Italy Node of the Millennium Project, and Generation Mover. The event explored the history and ongoing contributions of women futurists, highlighting their essential role in shaping different, equitable, and sustainable futures.

During the workshop, Carolina Facioni, researcher at ISTAT, reflected on the pioneering work of Eleonora Barbieri Masini and Donella Meadows, tracing the evolution of Futures Studies from early visionaries like Elise M. Boulding to the present day. Mara Di Berardo, Millennium Project Communications Director and Italy Node Co-Chair, presented an analysis of gender representation in the Millennium Project, the Association of Professional Futurists, and the World Futures Studies Federation, highlighting the Millennium Project’s Challenge 11 on the state of women, current gaps, and future opportunities, following the recent translation of the State of the Future 20.0 in Italian. Gloria Puppi, Advisory Board Member of the Italian Institute for the Future foundation, shared studies and perspectives on gender stereotypes and biases in artificial intelligence. Mirella Orsi, Head of the Women in Futures Studies Project, discussed the initiative launched by the Italian Institute for the Future and outlined the next steps for the project. The discussion was moderated by Isabella Pierantoni, Founder of Generation Mover, who provided an intergenerational perspective on the state of women today.

The workshop underscored the vital contributions of women futurists, often overlooked in the history of the discipline, and called for continued efforts to integrate gender perspectives in foresight studies. It celebrated the legacy of past leaders while inspiring the next generation to engage in creating inclusive, forward-looking strategies for the future.