Towards Equal and Inclusive Labour Relations: Systems, Strategies, and New Conceptual Frameworks
On the twenty-fourth anniversary of the death of Professor Marco Biagi, the Foundation and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia are commemorating the man and the labour law scholar by organizing an international conference on “Towards Equal and Inclusive Labour Relations: Systems, Strategies, and New Conceptual Frameworks”.
The two-day event (March 18-19, 2026) will bring together scholars from different disciplines and geographical contexts to engage in an interdisciplinary and comparative dialogue on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in contemporary labour markets. The conference will provide a space to critically examine how enduring forms of inequality and discrimination intersect with ongoing structural transformations, including digital and ecological transitions, demographic changes, and recurrent global crises.
By addressing key issues such as the conceptual foundations of equality and non-discrimination, the systemic mechanisms that produce and reproduce labour market inequalities, the role of legal, institutional and organisational actors, and the redefinition of vulnerability in evolving employment contexts, the conference aims to foster a deeper and more critical understanding of EDI in practice. Through conceptual and empirical contributions, the event seeks to explore innovative analytical frameworks and strategies capable of effectively promoting inclusive, equitable, and sustainable labour relations across diverse sectors and institutional settings.
Wednesday, 18th March 2026
1.30-2.00 pm Registration of Attendees
2.00-2.30 pm Welcome Addresses
Tindara Addabbo, Dean of the Marco Biagi Department of Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Marco Biagi Foundation
2.30 pm – 4.15 pm Opening Session (Plenary)
Introduction & Chair: Edoardo Ales, “Parthenope” University of Naples (Italy); Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
ILO Evidence on Horizontal Inequalities in Labour Markets
Nick Drydakis, Anglia Ruskin University (United Kingdom)
Diverging Pathways: Accommodation of Worker Diversity and the Case-Law of the Court of Justice
Mark Bell, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
TBD
Patrizia Zanoni, Hasselt University (Belgium)
4.15 pm – 4.30 pm 2025 Marco Biagi Award Ceremony
4.30 pm – 6.30 pm Parallel Sessions 1
Moderator: Miguel A. Malo, Full Professor, IE University (Spain)
The Critique of Labour in the Neoliberal Era. On the Metamorphoses of a Concept between Pathology and Power
Nicolò Maria Ingarra, Research Fellow, University of Macerata (Italy)
Making visible LGBTQI+ inequalities in working conditions and access to employment to guide coalitions to achieve social justice
Tindara Addabbo, Full Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy); Giuseppe Caruso, Research Fellow, University of Firenze (Italy); Chiara Mussida, Full Professor, Piacenza Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy)
Childbirth and the dynamics of female employment pay status in Europe
Chiara Mussida, Full Professor, Piacenza Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy); Dario Sciulli, Associate Professor, D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy)
Borders of freedom: work as a space of capability for intesectionally-marginalised women
Carlotta Barra, Research Fellow, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy); Eleonora Costantini, Researcher, Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy); Francesca Nepoti, Research Fellow, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia-Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
TBD
Miguel A. Malo, Full Professor, IE University (Spain)
Moderator: Edoardo Ales, “Parthenope” University of Naples (Italy); Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
Transforming organisations through (gender) equality: working time as a driver of inclusive change
Matilde Biagiotti, Researcher, University of Eastern Piedmont (Italy)
Unfit for the Ideal? Fathers, care, and the gendered logic of performance management systems
Francesca Nepoti, Research Fellow, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia-Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy); Ylenia Curzi, Associate Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – Fondazione Marco Biagi (Italy); Tommaso Fabbri, Full Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – Fondazione Marco Biagi (Italy); Filippo Ferrarini, Research Fellow, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – Fondazione Marco Biagi (Italy)
Beyond the Privilege: Masculinity and In-Group Exclusion in DEI Policies
Martina Gianecchini, Full Professor, University of Padova (Italy); Enrico Carlet, Post-doc Researcher, University of Padova (Italy)
Care responsabilities: a new ground of discrimination?
Joana Isabel Sousa Nunes Vicente, Assistant Professor, Researcher, University of Coimbra Institute for Legal Research (Portugal)
A glance on the CJ(UE) Bervidi Judgement – the intersection between protecting persons with disabilities and reconciling work and family
Milena da Silva Rouxinol, Associate Professor, Portuguese Catholic University (Portugal)
Moderator: Frank Hendrickx, Full Professor, KU Leuven (Belgium)
Predicting Inequality: Limiting the Impact of Predictive Health Data at Work
Elizabeth A. Brown, Full Professor, Bentley University (USA)
Who Keeps the Eyes Open? Wireless Power as the Missing Layer in Inequality Research
Barbara Surdykowska, mgr, NSZZ Solidarność, University of Warsaw (Poland)
Designing for inclusion? Technologically enhanced bodies and lines of (in)equality in labour law
Sławomir Adamczyk, mgr, NSZZ Solidarność (Poland)
The digital divide as a catalyst for labour inequalities: regulatory assumptions for a just transition
Lucía Dans Álvarez de Sotomayor, Profesora Contrada Doctora, Universidad de La Laguna (Spain)
Moderator: Massimiliano Delfino, University Federico II of Naples (Italy)
Discrimination against older people in the field of employment
Alexander Stöhr, Probationary judge, Berlin Labour Court (Germany)
Elderly Care (Platform) Work in Germany: Ensuring a Level Playing Field
Olga Chesalina, Researcher, Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy (Germany)
Fragmented Work, Firm Boundaries and Inequality: Reinterpreting Outsourcing through Labour Law (in the legacy of Marco Biagi)
Giacomo Gallo, PhD Student, University of Padua (Italy)
Regional and Socioeconomic Drivers of Youth Disengagement: Evidence from Spain’s NEET
Maria Novitasari, PhD Candidate, Piacenza Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy); Chiara Mussida, Full Professor, University of Parma (Italy)
Meaning, mobility and misalignment: young workers’ responses to labour-market fragmentation
Margherita Gorrieri, PhD Candidate, University of Florence, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca (Italy); Sara Lombardi, Associate Professor, University of Florence (Italy); Federico Martellozzo, Associate Professor, University of Florence (Italy)
6.45 am Holy Mass in memory of prof. Marco Biagi, at Sant’Agostino church (Piazza Sant’Agostino, 6 – Modena)
Thursday, 19th March 2026
9.30 am – 11.00 am Parallel Sessions 2
Moderator: Tindara Addabbo, Dean of the Marco Biagi Department of Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
Think Crisis, Think Female? Gender, Career Self-Efficacy, Leadership Traits, and the Glass Cliff in Italy
Erica Poma, Research Fellow, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy); Barbara Pistoresi, Associate Professor, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Standard of Reasonableness in Anti-discrimination Law in Japan: A Comparative Study on Law and Culture
Michela Riminucci, Associate Professor, Kobe University (Japan)
Beyond the Gaps: Understanding the Systems that Produce Inequality
Anna Paraskevopoulou, Associate Professor, Anglia Ruskin University (United Kingdom)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Worker-Owned Cooperatives: U.S. and Italy Compared
Ariana R. Levinson, Frost Brown Todd Professor of Law, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law (USA)
Moderator: Ralf Rogowski, Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick (Poland)
Towards Fair and Inclusive Employment Relations: Business as an Agent of Social Change Through Corporate Social Responsibility, Integrated Corporate Welfare and Safety at Work
Giorgio Luigi Risso, Assistant Professor, College of Business, Feng Chia University (Taiwan); Paolo Orlando Ferrara, Safety Professional, PhD in Labour Relations, Amazon Italia Logistica srl
Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Social Protection and Occupational Safety and Health: Toward an Integrated Framework
Marius Paul Olivier, Honorary Professor, Adjunct Professor, Extraordinary Professor, Nelson Mandela University, University of Western Australia North-West University; Casper Dupper Ockert, Global Programme Manager, Vision Zero Fund, Extraordinary Professor, ILO, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Towards a Just Transition Insurance: Integrating Climate Risk, Social Protection, and Green Finance
Yilmaz Alper, Attorney at Law, Istanbul Bar, LLB, University of Galatasaray (Turkey)
Climate Change, Labour-Market Inequalities, and the Portuguese Regulatory Framework
Ana Teresa Ribeiro, Assistant Professor, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal)
Moderator: Manfred Weiss, Professor Emeritus, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt (Germany)
Non-discrimination in private rental housing as a means to promote workers’ mobility and equal treatment
Ana Costa Afonso, Associate Professor, Catolica University (Portugal)
The epistemic organization as a conceptual challenge in the audit of labour relations
Massimo Bianchi, Former Full Professor, University of Bologna (Italy)
Forced Labour, More than a Concept?
Victoria Skeie, Doctoral researcher, University of Oslo (Norway)
Freedom of Expression at Work: Between Inclusion, Vulnerability and Organisational Control
Verena Vinzenz, University Assistant (postdoc), Institute of Labour Law and Social Security Law, University of Graz (Austria)
11.15 am – 12.45 pm Parallel Sessions 3
Moderator: Alan Neal, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick (Poland)
An intersectional analysis of migration and gender determining access to social protection: the need for an appropriate response framework
Marius Paul Olivier, Honorary Professor, Adjunct Professor, Extraordinary Professor, Nelson Mandela University, University of Western Australia, North-West University
Structural Inequalities and Labour Market Integration of Migrant Workers in Europe: Towards a Multidimensional Understanding of Inclusion
Izabela Florczak, Assistant Professor, University of Lodz (Poland)
Moving Beyond Worker Rights to Worker Justice
Shefali Milczarek-Desai, Associate Professor, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (USA)
Equal treatment for migrant workers in the transition to a greener economy
Emily Cunniffe, PhD Researcher, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
Moderator: Csilla Kollonay-Lehoczky, Professor Emerita, Central European University (Hungary)
How Industrial Relations shape organizational Equity: The case of Automobili Lamborghini
Angela Zaniboni, PhD Student, University of Siena with Internship in Automobili Lamborghini (Italy)
Dismissal due to illness and disability discrimination between case law and collective bargaining
Riccardo Maraga, Researcher in tenure track, University e-Campus (Italy)
«EDI Metrics»: A Study on Silent Actors of Workplace Equality Policies
Maria Giulia Arciero, PhD Candidate, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
Negotiating Vulnerability: Gendered Gig Work, and Inclusion in the Global South
Megha Sharma, Assistant Professor, NLSIU Bangalore (India)
Moderator: Janice Bellace, Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (USA)
The Concept of a ‘Single Source’ in Equal Pay Law – Chances and Risks
Erika Kovács, Associate Professor, Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria)
Collective Bargaining and Pay Transparency – Are Small Businesses at Risk?
Péter Sipka, Associate Professor, University of Debrecen (Hungary); Tamás Németh, PhD Student, University of Debrecen (Hungary)
The impact of pay transparency policies on gender pay equality and labor market structure: between theory and regulatory effectiveness
Łucja Kobroń-Gąsiorowska, Professor, University of the National Education Commission (Poland); Anna Nieć-Mrzygłód, Lawyer, Bigger Law Office (Poland)
Accounting for the distribution of job quality within a (putative) liberal employment regime: the case of Ireland’s labour market
John Geary, Full Professor, University College Dublin (Ireland); Lisa Wilson, Senior economist, Nevin Economic Research Institute (Ireland)
2.15 pm – 3.45 pm Session 4
Moderator: Susan Bisom-Rapp, Full Professor, California Western School of Law (USA)
Protection from violence and harassment in the workplace: an intersectional approach from a labour law perspective
Maria Giovannone, Associate Professor, University of Roma Tre (Italy); Fabiola Lamberti, Researcher, University of Roma Tre (Italy)
Equality, diversity and inclusion in the whistleblowing laws and policies
Marta Kozak-Maśnicka, PhD candidate, University of Warsaw (Poland)
Between Principle and Practice: The Legitimacy Crisis of Whistleblower Protection in EU Institutions as a Paradox of European Equality Policy
Magdalena Kun-Buczko , Lecturer, University in Bialystok (Poland)
De Facto Sealing: Adjudicatory Barriers to Sexual Harassment Information Access
Leora Faye Eisenstadt, Associate Professor & Murray Shusterman Research Fellow, Temple University, Fox School of Business (USA); Charlotte Alexander, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller College of Business (USA); Jeffrey Boles, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs, Temple University, Fox School of Business (USA); Nathan Dahlberg, Dahlberg, Founder, Docket Analyzer and former Data Scientist and Deep Learning Engineer, SCALES-OKN Project (USA)
Moderator: Carla Spinelli, Full Professor, University Aldo Moro of Bari (Italy)
The obligation to provide for reasonable accommodation: lights and shadows in the Italian legal order
Carla Spinelli, Full Professor, University Aldo Moro of Bari (Italy)
EU legal framework and CJEU case law on reasonable accommodation
Christina Hiessl, Professor, University of Leuven, KU Leuven (Belgium)
Reasonable Accommodation in Demark: a Trajectory of its Case Law
Vincenzo Pietrogiovanni, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark – SDU (Denmark)
Between legislation and jurisprudence. Reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities according to Polish law
Lukasz Pisarczyk, Associate Professor, University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland)
Introduction and Moderation: Rosita Zucaro, Inapp – The National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (Italy); Lilli Carollo, Inapp – The National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (Italy)
Speakers:
Barbara Giovanna Bello, University of Tuscia (Italy)
Olga Rymkevich, Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
Gualtiero Michelini, Court of Cassation (Italy)
Silvia Stefanovichj, Cisl Nazionale (Italy)
Marika Curvo, ENEL (Italy)
4.00 pm – 5.30 pm Plenary
Chair: Tiziano Treu, Catholic University of Milan (Italy), Marco Biagi Foundation (Italy)
Report from Moderators
Closing remarks: Summary of the Panels by Moderators
The event is realized thanks to the contribution of our institutional partners:
with the support of:
Prof. Tindara Addabbo (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Edoardo Ales (University of Naples Parthenope), Prof. Ylenia Curzi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Tommaso Fabbri (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Chiara Mussida (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Sede di Piacenza), Prof. Iacopo Senatori (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia).
Dr. Carlotta Serra (Marco Biagi Foundation, Chair), Dr. Carlotta Barra (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Dr. Eleonora Costantini (Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Arianna Di Iorio (Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Margherita Grillo (Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Francesca Nepoti (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Federica Palmirotta (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Ilaria Purificato (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Marco Biagi Foundation), Dr. Olga Rymkevich (Marco Biagi Foundation).
Prof. Marina Orlandi Biagi (Marco Biagi Foundation, Chair), Prof. Tindara Addabbo (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Edoardo Ales (University of Naples Parthenope), Prof. Francesco Basenghi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Janice Bellace (The Wharton School, Philadelphia), Prof. Susan Bisom-Rapp (California Western School of Law), Prof. Ylenia Curzi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Tommaso Fabbri (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Luigi E. Golzio (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Frank Hendrickx (University of Leuven, Belgium), Prof. Csilla Kollonay-Lehoczky (Central European University, Budapest), Prof. Alan Neal (University of Warwick), Prof. Roberto Pinardi (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Ralf Rogowski (University of Warwick), Prof. Riccardo Salomone (University of Trento), Prof. Iacopo Senatori (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Yasuo Suwa (Hosei University), Prof. Tiziano Treu (Catholic University of Milan), Prof. Manfred Weiss (J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt-am-Main).