A chance for growth
Assodimi is using its “Girls Wanted in Rental” to send a clear message of support for diversity and inclusion in the rental industry. The project aims to attract women to the sector, retain them long-term, and bring their skills into the spotlight. In this interview, Director of Assodimi Marco Prosperi talks about how the project started, its goals, and the opportunities for structural change within the industry.
Mr. Prosperi, what is the “Girls Wanted in Rental” project all about?
“Girls Wanted in Rental” is an ambitious project that Assodimi wants to push forward starting in 2026. The project has two goals: the first is to bring women to the rental industry and get them into long-term roles; the second aims to become more active in promoting and highlighting female employees in rental companies to encourage a more inclusive sector.
The Italian rental industry was almost exclusively male-dominated until very recently. Over the past few years, however, we’ve been pleased to see an increase in women working in rental companies – also in managerial and executive roles. In such a pivotal moment in history, it’s important to bring women into the rental industry – one that’s been experiencing significant growth for years now but struggles to find employees – and to value female professionals who bring unique perspectives and skills with them to the sector.
How did the idea of supporting the “Girls Wanted” project within Assodimi come about?
Assodimi is a non-political association that provides technical support to its members. Since I became director, one of our core objectives has been to establish the concept of collaboration as a pillar of the association for all stakeholders in the rental industry.
So far, no major social issues or initiatives have been defined that we wanted to pursue – due to various reasons, such as concern of being misunderstood, of offending, or of not being able to handle these issues appropriately. What’s more, I believe that these are issues that should be raised by the member companies and not by the association’s management.
However, Assodimi has a significant growth in recent years, including in terms of its reputation. When Daniela Niederstätter showed Lorenzo Moretti and me a flyer with the simple inscription “Girls” at bauma 2025 in Munich and explained the project to us, we immediately realized that Assodimi should support topics like this one. At the same time, we asked ourselves how we could approach it – topics like these are complex and sensitive and there is a risk of treating them in a trivial or overly simplistic way. This inspired me to create something tangible rather than just purely theoretical.
What importance do you attach to strengthening the presence of women in the rental industry?
Enhancing the presence of female employees in our industry is important because it requires companies to rethink their approach, both organizationally and practically. The sector still employs predominantly male employees, most likely due to its limited mindset that has developed over the years. Opening the doors to women can be a major growth opportunity for the industry, both economically and socially.
How would you describe the current presence of women in Italy’s rental industry?
Female presence in Italy’s rental industry is still very low at the moment, and the sector continues to be perceived as unattractive and almost exclusively male. There are still not enough female employees in rental companies, and most are working in the same small handful of areas like administration, front office, or marketing. The biggest challenge for the near future is to make roles outside of these limited fields also attractive to women.
We hope that more and more women will start occupying positions as technicians, drivers, branch managers, coordinators, and entrepreneurs in the rental industry.
What concrete measures has Assodimi already set into motion, and what outcomes do you expect to see from the “Girls Wanted in Rental” project?
Assodimi/Assonolo has already set up a working group of the project’s initiators, that has since grown to include other female entrepreneurs who enthusiastically support the movement. The goals and first steps of the “Girls Wanted in Rental” project initial phase have already been defined. The project is based on three fundamental pillars: raising awareness, training, and dialogue. We are using these pillars to develop programs that help companies understand how to create a more inclusive rental industry, how to better value female skills, and how to structure appropriate communication.
We expect participation from a large number of rental companies that are ready to actively shape this change, especially now that the European Rental Association has already included the project in its agenda.
Do you believe that initiatives like “Girls Wanted in Rental” can bring about a structural change in the rental industry’s labor market?
I believe that associations like Assodimi/Assonolo hold a responsibility to carry the torch when it comes to issues like inclusion. The “Girls Wanted in Rental” project can be an opportunity for change across the entire industry. The structural characteristics of the rental industry render it extremely dynamic, and it must continue to evolve if it wants to maintain its role in the market. In that light, projects and initiatives like this one are very welcome, because they encourage rental companies to change, to open, and become more inclusive in order to continue growing.
Interview: Sarah Meraner