Honouring women must never be confined to a single day. It must be reflected in the decisions we take, the voices we elevate, and the opportunities we create every day. As we mark International Women’s Day 2026, ERTICO – ITS Europe reaffirms that true progress is built through sustained action and long-term commitment. An inclusive mobility sector does not emerge from statements of intent alone. It is shaped by leadership, collaboration and inclusion of diverse expertise across our ecosystem.
From young professionals to experienced leaders, from colleagues to Partners, and from community members to key decision-makers, one message remains clear: diversity strengthens industries by bringing richer perspectives, sharper innovations, and stronger outcomes across every field.
Empowering Women Across the Mobility Ecosystem
ERTICO’s role as a neutral, multi-sector partnership demonstrates how collaboration, and shared expertise enable women to lead, innovate, and define the future of mobility. By creating spaces for visibility, exchange and influence, we ensure that women contribute to strategic direction and project deployment while driving meaningful change across the ecosystem.
As we unite women from across the sectors, we also celebrate the experiences and perspectives of our colleagues, emphasising how diversity catalyses innovation and is a source of inspiration for the next generation.
Lidia Buenavida Peña, Manager, Innovation and Deployment, reflects on inclusive leadership:
“In my view, inclusive leadership is key to strengthening collaboration and generating real impact because it actively values different perspectives and ensures they are present at the decision-making table. In mobility, where policies and systems shape everyday life, diverse viewpoints are essential to designing solutions that truly serve society. However, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions, meaning they are not always invited into strategic discussions in the first place."
She continues, “Many women are socialised to be respectful, not to stand out, and to avoid confrontation - expectations that can unintentionally silence important contributions. Inclusive leadership is therefore not only about representation, but about intentionally creating space, encouraging participation, and translating diverse voices into meaningful impact.”
As a strong voice of inclusivity, Martina Ferrara Snider, Senior Support Project Manager, adds her perspective on the challenges of inclusion in the ITS world, reflecting on her experience as a young professional in the sector:
“In the ITS world, there is often the tendency to approach innovation as something led by and designed for artificial entities, rather than humans who shape technology for a bigger social purpose, and for end-users that are, in fact, living and breathing beings. I daily hear statements about “building different scenarios” to understand the complexity of a problem, to tailor risk management strategies and become more resilient. Yet, when someone actually shows a different scenario, it is welcomed with fear rather than encouragement, and those who should help in removing barriers are the ones who create them.“
She concludes, calling out the urgency of inclusive leadership for the next generation of women in transport: “This is how I feel as a young woman in the sector. Inclusive leadership, for me, is acknowledging that you have the power to bring underrepresented voices to the table - like women, who, according to varying statistics, make up only 20–30% of the transport sector workforce, and even fewer at the C-suite level - and recognising how enriched and visionary those discussions can become.“
Drawing on years of leadership within sustainable and urban mobility, Dr Tamara Djukic, Head of Green & Urban Mobility, highlights the strategic value women bring to complex decision-making environments:
“Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand the quality, strategic thinking, and strength that women bring to leadership. Women leaders foster open dialogue, challenge assumptions, and drive more sustainable, forward-looking decisions. This is not about quotas; it is about excellence. When diverse perspectives are genuinely valued, women in leadership ensure that our sector fully benefits from the talent, expertise, and strategic vision needed to navigate complexity and advance the growth, inclusiveness and transformation of the transport and mobility sector. Today, we celebrate the women whose vision, dedication, and excellence shape the success and future of our sector.”
As we hear from different voices within ERTICO, Joanna Mikolajczyk, Senior Officer, Partnership Marketing & Engagement, stresses the importance of actively amplifying women’s expertise:
“In my role within the ERTICO Partnership, I see every day how powerful visibility and opportunity can be. Inclusion is not only about representation in numbers, but it is also about ensuring that women’s expertise, leadership and ideas are actively showcased, connected and amplified across our ecosystem. When we create platforms where diverse voices are heard and recognised, we don’t just advance equality, we strengthen collaboration, innovation and the overall impact of the mobility community.”
Agne Vaitekenaite, Head of Partnership and Advocacy, explains that “Progress happens when we connect voices of diverse stakeholders.” She emphasises that gender equality is not an individual effort but a shared responsibility embedded in partnership:“Gender equality grows through partnerships that amplify women’s leadership, open doors to shared decision‑making, and turn collaboration into lasting change. When we build alliances that value diverse perspectives, we strengthen the systems, communities, and industries we serve.”
Inclusive Mobility Projects Shaping Europe’s Future
Throughout our portfolio of EU-funded projects, ERTICO prioritise gender balance and inclusivity from the initial proposal through to final delivery. This ensures that every consortium we lead upholds the principles of fair representation and opportunity.
ERTICO’s projects and platforms promote safer, more inclusive, and accessible mobility for everyone, ensuring that innovation serves all communities.
Designing Safer Charging Solutions for Diverse Communities
The ePowerMove project places societal needs at the heart of its innovations. Through co-design workshops and other user engagement activities, the project works closely with diverse community clusters to ensure that its solutions reflect real-world needs. The V2X charging design takes into consideration female EV users’ insights for safety, ease of use and accessibility. Adequate lighting or the presence of CCTV cameras close to the chargers are relevant assets for enhanced acceptability.
Advancing User Responsive and Inclusive Urban Mobility
SMARTIN advances safer and more inclusive mobility by integrating accessibility and user-centric design into transport infrastructure management. Through AI-driven analytics, predictive maintenance and multimodal planning solutions, the project aims to enhance safety, reduce disruptions and promote fair access to mobility for all road users. Its co-creation approach ensures that digital solutions reflect the needs of different user groups, including vulnerable road users, helping shape transport systems that are accessible, equitable and responsive to real urban contexts.
Data Driven Road Safety for Vulnerable Road Users
Road safety is at the heart of the CAMBER project. By focusing on urban and secondary roads, where vulnerable road users are most at risk, the project develops data-driven and low-cost interventions that make streets safer and more inclusive for everyone. By harnessing digital twins, new-generation data sources and user-centred evaluation frameworks, CAMBER helps road authorities identify high-risk locations and prioritise improvements such as safer crossings, enhanced markings and better cycling infrastructure, supporting accessible and equitable mobility across Europe.
Co-Creating Equitable and Accessible Cities for All Genders
CORESpaces places citizens at the centre of urban space planning through inclusive co-creation processes that capture diverse needs and mobility patterns. It integrates AI-driven planning, digital twins, dynamic curbside and space allocation to support safer multimodal mobility, prioritise public and active transport, and promote equitable access to urban space. Through its Living Labs, solutions are tested in real environments to enhance safety, accessibility, public health and social cohesion, contributing to more inclusive and liveable cities for all.
Co-Creating Automated Mobility that Works for All
CulturalRoad promotes more equitable and inclusive Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions that benefit all users, thereby increasing the societal acceptance of these new technologies. Through its participatory co-creation activities, a wide range of stakeholders, including citizens and end users, are taking part in workshops and focus groups to ensure that CCAM deployment responds to their needs. As part of its work on inclusivity, the project examines how CCAM solutions can be designed to be accessible to all users in an equitable way and that is accessible to all, examining diverse aspects such as accessibility, affordability, digital accessibility, security measures and ethical standards.
Inclusive Innovation in Peri-Urban Mobility and Governance
To integrate peri-urban areas in the transition towards climate neutrality, the periASTY project organises co-design activities with local stakeholders and diverse citizen groups to define together collaborative business innovation and governance models, validate the mobility, industry, energy, and governance solutions developed and demonstrated in the project’s nine Living Labs in Europe, and ensure they address their needs.
Championing Inclusivity at the 17th ITS European Congress in Istanbul
As organisers of the 17th ITS European Congress in Istanbul, ERTICO is dedicated to showcasing how diverse sets of initiatives and discussions empower women throughout the mobility sector.
As one of the stewards of the ITS Congress technical programme, Rita Bhandari, Senior Manager Programme & Knowledge Integration, explains why balanced panels are integral to credibility:
“Having gender-balanced panels as one of the acceptance criteria for the ITS Congresses programme is not merely a box to tick for us. We take it seriously as we firmly believe that diversity of voice strengthens credibility and challenges blind spots. This ultimately leads to better solutions. We have many highly qualified and motivated women experts in the field, and ignoring their voice only limits possibility. It is gratifying to see the decline of 'manels', but Women's Day is also a reminder that we still have some way to go to become truly inclusive.”Through these actions, ERTICO demonstrates that gender equality is not only a means to an end, but a lived reality.
Building Resilient Organisations Through Inclusion
By supporting women to lead, innovate, and influence, we strengthen our sector, foster diverse perspectives, and create lasting societal progress.
Looking at diversity through an organisational lens, Virginie Massot, HR Business Partner, addresses a common misconception:
“Actions to promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion are often seen as 'positive discrimination', as if they add privileges to underrepresented groups.” She continues, “In reality, it’s about removing as much as possible, the positive discrimination that has long benefited over-represented groups; removing discrimination to ensure we hire the best person for the role; and removing unconscious biases to ensure we promote and reward the most deserving person. Actions to promote diversity & inclusion make companies more resilient and improve their performance. They are a key part of a successful HR strategy.”
Our commitment aligns with the European Union's Gender Equality Strategy 2020 - 2025 and the Gender Equality Plan (GEP+) requirements embedded within the Horizon Europe framework. Equally important, it reflects our belief that inclusive mobility systems are stronger, safer and more sustainable.
The conversation does not stop here. Follow ERTICO – ITS Europe on LinkedIn to discover inspiring stories, and see how we are shaping an inclusive mobility future every day.