The EV SUMMIT, in partnership with Auto Trader the UK’s largest automotive marketplace, is once again celebrating women in the electric vehicle (EV) industry with its Top Women in EV annual programme taking place this week. Today, the week-long event is celebrating International Women’s Day with its Embracing Equity: How do we encourage more women to join the EV transition? panel.
Today’s panel features high-level and trail-blazing women from across the EV sector who will be discussing the role of equity in encouraging more women to take an active interest in electric vehicles and the EV space. A point made by Erin Baker, Auto Trader Editorial Director, is that women have legitimate concerns about charging infrastructure based on concerns around operational issues and availability. The panel will discuss this and more as it aims to inspire more women to take part in the emobility space.
Panellists include:
Laura Lancaster: Vice President of EV Networks & Partnerships at FLEETCOR
Loredana Negriu: G Global Product Manager, ABB E-mobility
Erin Baker: Automotive Journalist, Editorial Director at Auto Trader UK
Ginny Buckley: Founder and CEO at electrifying.com and BBC & ITV Journalist and Presenter
Since 2020, the EV SUMMIT has placed women’s voices centre stage. Each year, the campaign celebrates women in the EV industry, whilst delivering actionable change, to address the gender imbalance across the industry.
In 2020, women made up just 13% of the automotive workforce. Deloitte conducted a report interviewing automotive industry professionals, with 90% responding that women were under-represented in leadership positions and that more needed to be done to advance women in the workplace.
Top Women in EV promotes the success of women in leadership roles, as well as recognising up-and-coming talent as the leaders of the future, inspiring others in the sector.
The year-long Top Women in EV programme launched in January as nominations opened, welcoming women at every level and of all backgrounds to be put forward by their peers.
There will be 70 finalists selected by a panel of judges who are themselves Top Women in EV. These finalists are being announced on LinkedIn with a week-long celebration running 6-12th March 2023. In 2022, this LinkedIn campaign delivered over 320,000 impressions.
Laura McNally, Co-Marketing Director at Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace, said of the campaign: “The innovative and fast-growing emobility space provides a fresh opportunity to reshape the historical dynamics of the automotive sector and Top Women in EV is a great way to champion the amazing talent of women in the industry.”
Lindsay Brown, Head of Development at Green.TV Media, the sustainability communications company behind the EV SUMMIT and Top Women in EV, said: “Top Women in EV started as a digital campaign, however, we found that the women involved wanted to do more to support each other.
“Through building networks and one on one mentoring, the women in the EV industry can come together to support one another to grow in their careers.”
The long-term impact of Top Women in EV is achieved through networking events and a mentoring programme. The Top Women in EV mentoring programme matches Top Women in EV finalists with others in the sector, for either early career or peer-to-peer mentoring on a one-to-one basis, to provide advice and encouragement, and deliver real change.
