The UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification is a practice developed by UNI (Ente Italiano di Normazione), in collaboration with the Department for Equal Opportunities, to support Italian companies in promoting gender equality. Based on the adoption of the UNI/PdR 125 in a medium-sized local company, the “Equal Opportunities and Inclusion” training programme was conducted focussing gender issues, specifically the deconstruction of stereotypes, assertive and non-violent communication, and actions against all forms of violence and harassment.

When training is applied to the world of work, the concept generally takes on a functionalist meaning, understood as the goal of acquiring a technical-practical set of skills to be updated according to rapid changes. Increasingly, however, there is a need to offer training opportunities for the individual and not only for the worker, with his or her load of life problems to deal with, given the needs, emotions, roles, and transitions in the various phases of the life cycle.

For these reasons, the main goal of the training project was to raise participants' awareness of gender-based stereotypes, equal opportunities issues, and positive actions to implement, with the aim to: 1. Promote positive attitudes towards equal opportunities; 2. Improve knowledge of equal opportunities and good practices for inclusion; 3. Provide a useful and enjoyable learning experience.

The training involved 13 participants (5 men and 8 women) aged between 21 and 62 years (Mage 44.6). It was based on active participation, playful activities, peer interaction, and the sharing of reflections.

The achievement of training objectives was evaluated using three different questionnaires. As for the objective 1, a questionnaire about the perceived content of the training was used at T0 and T1. The criterion for evaluation was that perceived knowledge at the end of the training should be greater than initially. As for the objective 2, an open-ended questionnaire was used at T0 and T1. The evaluation criterion was a decrease in stereotypical representations of gender differences, as determined by a content analysis. As for the objective 3, a Likert 5-points scale questionnaire was administered, with an average satisfaction score of at least 3.

The scores obtained at the initial and final investigation show that participants’ knowledge about the topic increased. Women were described more for their competence and less for their emotional and relational characteristic than men. About the satisfaction, participants’ level of satisfaction was high.

Participants declared: “A lot of education is needed”; “I have further developed the concept of stereotypes and prejudices”; “Interfacing with other people was good”; “It is important to work on oneself”; “A way to avoid useless and harmful stereotypes”; “Awareness of the difficulty in unhinging old ideals”; “Interesting, new knowledge”; “Enrichment”; “It is difficult to be assertive”.

The training program showed promising results. Participants obtained an improvement regarding their knowledge about equal opportunities, despite their gender-related stereotypes moved only a little. Participants showed a counter stereotypical representation of gender as women were defined more for their competence than their emotional/relational characteristics and men were recognized in their emotional and relational dimension. Participants were satisfied and declared to be more aware about the presence of stereotypes.

Keywords: Adult education, training, equal opportunity, inclusion, stereotypes, prejudice.