Guest Editor: Vicky Edmonds, CEO, EVA England – the voice of the electric driver
The phrase ‘Women in EVs’ conjures up many positive images and memories for me: working with female colleagues across government and industry leading policy changes that make sure EVs are truly central to the future of road transport; having lively debates with female friends and family about the opportunities and challenges of owning and driving an EV; and talking with women at roadshows and events about the products and campaigns they are developing that will make the experience of owning an EV better.
Across all these memories, comes one lasting impression: in a world where it often feels like the EV boardroom, positions of leadership and media are still dominated by men. It is the women I have worked with throughout my career that have been quietly (and sometimes not so quietly!) influencing and taking decisions that have driven the EV sector forward into the successful and thriving sector it is today.
The heads of trade bodies, organisations and teams across the EV world responsible for making sure the voices of significant parts of the industry are heard at key moments and decisions. The journalists, campaigners and podcasters responsible for communicating the success of the sector to millions, collectively, of listeners; and of course the current Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander MP and Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP.
The voice of women must continue to be central to these key moments.
We bring fresh ideas about how to make the most of the opportunities the industry brings, offer new solutions on how to tackle the challenges, and have different perspectives about what it is like to buy and own an EV. Crucially, we speak for half of the consumer base for EVs in this country, and at EVA England we can see increasing numbers of women start to engage as electric car consumers with more and more responding to our public surveys (only 7% of respondents in 2021, rising to 21% this last year).
So how can we reinforce the role that women have and must continue to play, and recruit and retain the necessary talent?
There are a number of well discussed structural changes that will help: closing the gender pay gap, putting in place programmes that actively promote women as they seek new opportunities and leadership positions, and challenging gender stereotypes (still very common in the transport world). Critical for me is promoting work-life balance (and many companies now embrace flexible working), but also making sure it doesn’t become a barrier to seeking that next opportunity or promotion.
I used to joke with colleagues that I had lost three years to them after only two separate sets of maternity leave. Simply because, after each period of leave, I had to rebuild my network and show everyone (again!) what I could do – and all within a shorter working day because I had to leave on time in order to pick up my children. We need better support systems for women returning from a career break and working flexibly that encourage and help them to pick up where they left off.
Visibly celebrating the success of women across all parts of the industry – both within an organisation and publicly – is vital.
Giving women equal space and air-time to male representatives in the media is a no-brainer but doesn’t yet always happen. Making sure that those organising conferences give equal weight to female speakers and presenters must be done. Working with schools and universities to promote the range of skillsets and job satisfaction opportunities the EV sector has to offer women is paramount.
And supporting campaigns such as the ‘2025 Top Women in EVs’ campaign is critical. By continuing to talk about and promote our role in the sector, I hope we can inspire the next generation of female leaders to take their turn in driving EVs forward.
