Mirta Michilli named among StartupItalia’s ‘Unstoppable Women 2026’
Every year, StartupItalia updates Unstoppable Women, the list dedicated to women who are helping to transform the country through business, research, technology, culture, the professions and social innovation. The 2026 edition also features Mirta Michilli, Director-General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
Unstoppable Women was launched ten years ago in response to a simple yet still relevant question: where are the women when it comes to innovation? It is not a ranking, but an open and constantly evolving observatory, which over the years has gathered over two thousand stories and continues to expand thanks to nominations from the community.
Mirta Michilli’s inclusion holds particular significance for the sector she represents. In the extensive list—comprising mainly managers, entrepreneurs, professionals, researchers and institutional representatives—figures from the third sector constitute a minority.
This is a perspective on innovation that we at the Fondazione Mondo Digitale have been cultivating for 25 years: technology not as an end in itself, but as a lever to expand opportunities, reduce inequalities, and strengthen skills and participation. It is a form of innovation that arises from the convergence of education, research, business, institutions and communities, and which measures its value in part by its ability to generate social impact.
The latest edition of Unstoppable Women pays particular attention to the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence and to the gap that continues to separate women from the places where new technologies are designed and decisions are made. Making diverse skills and leadership visible therefore also means broadening the question: who is helping to shape the future, and for whom are we building it?
Mirta Michilli’s presence in the StartupItalia community also brings to this narrative the experience of an organisation that has been working for a quarter of a century to ensure that innovation is accessible, inclusive and capable of generating shared value.
