Sisters In Cars Scandinavia - SICS Gothenburg 2024

The background for gathering Scandinavian Automotive Women is simple.

We are stronger together and can achieve more as one group.

We all need input. We need to feel valued and seen.

We need goals and meaning.

We need opportunities to develop.

If not, we may want to move on to other jobs.

To retain employees, employers should give them motivation and inspiration.

The SICS24-GOTHENBURG conference is where Scandinavian women in the car industry can find inspiration and be motivated to stay put in the industry, find like-minded people and network.

Diversity is necessary for growth, innovation, productivity and for achieving sustainability goals.

Today, there is an enormous digital transformation that opens many opportunities and challenges and here diversity is essential for succes.

That is why it is disturbing that, for example, nine out of ten people who work in the car industry in Norway are men.

At a time when we are pushing boundaries to innovate and ensure more sustainable mobility for the whole world, theres is a crying need for qualitied labor. It is high time to work strategically and purposefully to recruit not just from half of, but from all employees.

Gender equality benefits everyone, which is why it has been nominated as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal

(UN SDG) 5: Gender Equality.

New research indicates that there are positive ripple effects to hiring and promoting more women to top positions in companies.

Having more women in charge leads to a better workplace for everyone – especially women.

Women feel more comfortable raising ‘women’s issues’ when a greater number of women are present.

Other research efforts have shown that, when more women are in charge, companies are more profitable and more socially aware, among other benefits.

Cecilia Routledge,  Global Director CTEK says: "The automotive sector has been traditionally male dominated. And whilst we are starting to see change, we need to do more to address this balance. It´s when we have a representative mix, we can be sure we have the right skills and insights needed to create products and solutions that meet everybody´s needs.

We have the responsiiblity to blast the message to bright women that there are diverse roles available, from design, engineering, software development to finance, purchasing, project management , sales and marketing. There are so many great reasons for women to be involved. There is an array of thriving career opportunitues available."

Maria Brandt, Head of Recharge Sweden says: "We believe that mixed teams perform better, and that it is important to secure equality and diversity in our industry. With Sisters In Cars we can meet as an industry and collectively work together on showing more women the diversity of different roles and opportunities that are possible in our industry."

Gitte Seeberg, CEO AutoBranchen Danmark says: "The automotive industry needs to get better at talking to and attracting both men and women in order to better reflect car buyers and users in the future."

Kristin Fjeld, Head of Communications Polestar Norway says: "We believe in a sustainable future for our planet and everyone on it. The concept of "leave no one behind" from the UN Agenda 2030 is a key driver of human rights, diversity and equality. At Polestar we fully embrace inclusion by standing up for the rights of vulnerable people in our supply chain, employees in our workplace, and customers who drive our cars. We also believe diversity is vital for innovation, creativity and business results."

Mari Lagberg, CMO Volvo Car Retail says: "Our assignment is to drive transformation and make an impact within the areas that Sisters In Cars stands for, so of course we want to support all kind of initiatives where we can grow, learn and also share."

The SICS Conference in Oslo (March 2023) was a success. 

The program mix was well received. Success stories were popular. So were side events at Polestar Space and NIO House, panel discussion and other topics. The conference ended with a small workshop and the participants engaged with suggestions for how to grow the network and what to do at the conference in Gothenburg.