Keyloop and Solera cap hpi are founding partners of the new UK arm of Empowering Auto, originally a Canadian nonprofit organisation that supports the role of women across the industry.
Motor Trader attended the launch event for Empowering Auto UK, held at Octopus Electroverse HQ in Central London, last night.
Empowering Auto UK brings together senior leaders and emerging talent to address enduring structural issues in recruitment, retention, and progression.
Jacqui Barker (VP global engagement at Keyloop) and Aryan Habib (co-founder of Empowering Auto CA), discussed how the UK arm of Empowering Auto came to be.
Barker said: “We need something for women in the industry that makes us feel like we belong to this industry, and there wasn’t really a huge amount going on. Any of us that have been to automotive events will know it’s a bit male-dominated so it is quite hard to find our tribe, and we wanted to build our tribe.
“Empowering Auto started from a simple launch like this and it is now enormous. It is one of the biggest events in Toronto, every year. I go every year in October and they have a flagship conference which is filled with about 600 women, and they all get together. We have amazing speakers and there is also mentoring and additional support throughout the year. The goal is simple, it’s to make automotive an attractive place to bring talent in.”
Habib added: “In 2023, when Jacqui was on our stage she said ‘I want to take this to London’. I said OK, we will see but until then I will not visit London because I want it to be a very special occasion. So, for the first time ever, I am in London. I am excited to see this community, and I am very privileged as a Canadian to build a community across the pond. To all the new friends and supporters here today, I am looking forward to the future.”
Women comprise about 20% of the UK automotive workforce, with lower representation at senior and board levels, as it stands.
A panel discussion, dubbed ‘Progress Over Perfection’, saw global leaders share their stories with a focus on growth, risk and impact. The panel, chaired by Barker, included Julia Muir (founder at Auto30Club), Fiona Howarth (founder at Octopus Electric Vehicles), Yolanda Biswah (president at Canadian Black Book), and Amy Fleming (president & CEO at Mazda Canada).
The welcoming energy felt during the networking at the start of the event lasted for the entire evening. There was a real sense of positivity, with applause following many of the panellists’ comments. Audience members were visibly engaged and vocal in their support of the topics of discussion.
Acceleration of change
Introducing Muir, Barker said: “Julia’s work is amazing because she has the vision of ‘we don’t need to fix women, we need to fix the system that stops women getting promoted’.
“It is incumbent upon us all to open a door for other women. The other thing Julia says is ‘if you can see it, you can be it’.”
Muir went on to talk about the opportunity she saw in the acceleration of change taking place in the industry
She said: “It was on the back of seeing that the industry was going to go through massive disruption, huge change, and frankly there was too much mediocrity in the leadership of the sector at the time because there was too much homogeneity. Everybody was the same, everyone would come up through the same background. I truly believed in the power of difference, that in order to rise to a huge transformation, you need lots of different voices, different perspectives, different backgrounds.
“At some point you do have to take responsibility for making change happen. I approached 12 men, leaders, CEOs, MDs that knew me for what I could do. And we agreed that they would drive change in their organisation to stop positive discrimination in favour of a certain type.”
Howarth added: “Everything is up for grabs now. Whether it’s geopolitics, the energy transition, AI, technology, quantum. Everything is moving quickly and so the reality is you need to be able to be adaptable. Adaptable is the number one thing for all of us. We as women have always had to be adaptable in so many different ways.”
Instilling confidence
Adaptability is just one of many strengths that women bring to the table in automotive. However, confidence remains a recurring conversation point in auto.
Particularly, the difference in how women and men approach self-belief and putting themselves out there. Self-advocacy is just as important as allyship.
Howarth said: “You know the stats, women if they are going to apply for a job they need to tick 90% of the job description and then they are going to get the interview and apologise for the 10% that they can’t do.
“Whereas the men may look at 60% they can do and then they will get in the room and tell everyone about the 60% that they can do. It’s not just about applying for jobs, it can also be taking on a project – a more risky project.”
Biswah added: “I think with almost every OEM, in probably 80% of the boardrooms, I was the only woman. And that’s very intimidating. Imagine someone who is younger, not as experienced.
“There is no way you’re going to find your voice. And that is why it is important for me to show up and be present. To show that I have a voice in those rooms and that I can speak up and that you need to find that and trust yourself.”
The power of diversity
Muir began: “Women are perfectly capable, high performing, and intellectual. The automotive organisations and systems were built and designed by men to serve a certain profile of 20th century man.
“The way to start is not to look at how we can get women to fit into that system. It is about how we can get the leaders of this system to break that system and rebuild it in a way that will actually make high performers of any type – male, female, any ethnicity, any background – thrive in that organisation.”
The Automotive 30% Club is a gender balance campaign based on group dynamics studies from the 1970s by Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
Muir explained: “If you have a group where there is a majority of people that are all the same, if you have a minority in the room like the token woman HR director, you will never change the group dynamic. You have to get that minority up to 30%. People do have that psychological safety more so. They feel that they can contribute, that they deserve a seat at that table.”
The Automotive 30% Club achieved its goal of having 30% of key leadership and decision-making roles filled by women by 2030, five years early.
Muir reflects on the progress that had been made by members and the industry.
“As they walk through each door, each bit of enlightenment, they realise how much they were inadvertently discriminating against women because of the way we design jobs. We have working practices that don’t suit people with care and responsibility.”
Partners in progress
Allyship is a key topic of discussion amongst the panel. Both men and women are considered allies of the cause.
Fleming said: “Empowering Auto is a network I wish I had 20 years ago, it is so inspiring because I think the group does a really great job of highlighting all different career paths. Not just OEM, but across vendors and the industry. It could be someone who runs a production facility. It is really inspiring, especially the huge conferences but also these smaller events where you get to connect with people.
“I think that imposter syndrome is real. I felt it with every job as I moved up the ladder. So, it is really important to create an opportunity to share those stories and have the opportunity to network with women who have walked into these rooms where it is all men. I think that builds confidence and will inspire the next generation to step into those roles.”
Muir talks about sponsorship where senior leaders advocate for other women. Much weight is given to sponsorship as without sponsorship from senior leaders, talented women could remain overlooked despite a strong performance.
“This is what a sponsor is for. Somebody who advocates for you when you are not in the room. Somebody that opens doors for you without you even realising until you work it out later. It is somebody that thinks that you can deliver, that can see the talent in you. I have had so many of those in the sector and I would actually say that all of my founder members were forms of sponsors,” said Muir.
“An ally is male or female, but they take responsibility for making change happen. They are an ally to the cause. They are an ally to any high-performing person, irrespective of what they look like, how they sound, where they come from. It is about being accountable. Just turning up to a women’s event is not an ally. Doing something next as a result of being here is what a true ally does.
“Women do need to help other women. We really need to instil the end of the queen bee that we have experienced.”
