Building on the momentum of International Women’s Day, ERTICO – ITS Europe reinforced its commitment to gender equality and inclusion in transport and mobility through a series of impactful initiatives. On 11 March, ERTICO, alongside key partners in the ITS community, marked a significant milestone in advancing gender diversity and inclusion by raising awareness of women’s contributions to transport and mobility. These collective efforts demonstrate the strong collaboration of all involved parties in advancing diversity and inclusion.
Alongside its social campaign promoting gender balance and voicing ERTICO colleagues’ views, we hosted an exclusive panel discussion in Brussels ‘Moving Beyond Manels: Addressing Gender Inequality in the ITS Industry’. This event was part of a broader, industry-wide initiative, with parallel events taking place across the ITS community, including ITS UK’s webinar on female leadership, the Mujer e ITS event in Madrid, organised by our Partner DGT and ITS Spain as part of the Road to the ITS European Congress in Seville (19-21 May) as well as Women in ITS panel in Istanbul. These initiatives reflect a strong public-private commitment to fostering diversity and empowering women in the sector, laying the groundwork for continued progress toward a more inclusive industry.
Spain: Mujer e ITS – Road to ITS Seville 2025
In celebration of women’s contributions to the Spanish ITS sector, the Mujer e ITS event, organised by our Partner Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) and ITS Spain, focused on bringing awareness and action of enhanced female visibility and greater participation in industry discussions. Unique to this event was its all-female panel of speakers, bringing together representatives from national, regional, and municipal administrations, alongside leading private-sector experts.
Held in Madrid, the event brought together leading female professionals to discuss the impact of intelligent transport systems on mobility, traffic, and road safety, including featured high-level speakers: Susana Crisóstomo (Ministry of the Interior), María Lidón Lozano (DGT), and Estibaliz Olabarri González (Basque Government), who highlighted the role of women in driving innovation in mobility. Expert panels explored key topics such as AI, Big Data, autonomous driving, and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), with insights from industry leaders including Marta Alonso (Madrid City Council), Ana Paul Tomillo (CTAG), and Sara Gutiérrez (GMV). The discussions reinforced the need for collaboration between administrations and the growing influence of women in shaping the future of transport.
This initiative not only reinforced the importance of gender diversity in ITS but also set the stage for stronger female representation at the ITS European Congress in Seville and beyond.
ITS UK Women in ITS Group Webinar
The ITS UK Women in ITS group hosted an insightful webinar exploring key themes including diversity within the ITS sector, how the sector is growing to enhance female leadership and how we can be forward-thinking and create the right future environments for a more robust and balanced workforce. International speakers, including Susan Harris (ITS Australia), Jill Hayden (ITS UK Woman of the Year), Miranda Blogg (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads), and Elena Minguet (WSP), led engaging discussions, highlighting innovative approaches to advancing gender balance in mobility. Chris Lane, Strategic Head of Transport Innovation, (Transport for West Midlands) also presented a statement on the importance of diversity in the sector which is one of the key pillars on the road towards the ITS World Congress in Birmingham 2027, where the industry will continue working toward a more representative and forward-thinking mobility sector.
Istanbul: Women in ITS Initiative
Hosted at Tech Istanbul Şişhane, the event in Istanbul featured distinguished speakers including such as Rukiye Aydın Türktaş (IMM Head of IT Department), Serap Çetinkaya (IMM Traffic Director), Melda Horoz (IMM Transportation Planning Director), and Ceyda Ünal (BELBIM CEO). Discussions focused on increasing women’s visibility in the sector and fostering leadership opportunities, setting the tone for further initiatives in the coming year.
Looking Ahead: A Stronger Future for Women in ITS
ERTICO’s event in Brussels, held at The Nine, concluded a day filled with powerful discussions on diversity and inclusion. The discussion welcomed insights from Rita Bhandari (Senior Manager, Programme & Knowledge Integration, ERTICO – ITS Europe), Stephanie Leonard (Global Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, TomTom), Ruth Lopian (Policy Officer – Equality Coordinator, European Commission), and Emőke Péter (President, The Brussels Binder). Their valuable perspectives shed light on the challenges and opportunities in fostering greater gender representation in transport and technology.
The conversation centred on the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles, the barriers to female participation in technology and transport, and strategies to drive systemic change. Speakers shared concrete recommendations, including mentorship programmes, industry-wide commitments to diverse speaker panels, and stronger policy frameworks to support gender equality in the workforce.
An engaging discussion unfolded on the importance of visibility, with panellists stressing the need to actively promote female leadership at major industry events such as the ITS Congresses.
These initiatives marks the start of an ongoing dialogues to enhance women’s representation in transport and mobility sector, ensuring gender diversity remains central to industry progress. ‘ERTICO looks forward to building on this momentum through future Congresses and initiatives to increase women’s participation and visibility.
We are grateful to all our partners and speakers for their unwavering commitment to gender equality. Together, we continue to drive progress toward a more inclusive and balanced ITS sector.
