- WIAS (Women in the Automotive Sector) empowers female talent and promotes the inclusion and training of women in careers related to the automotive sector to create growth opportunities.
Inchcape, the world's leading independent automotive distributor, reaffirms its commitment to equal opportunities and the empowerment of women. For this reason, it has joined WIAS (Women in the Automotive Sector), a recently established non-profit association made up of representatives from various automotive companies, aiming to enhance women's skills and increase their participation in technical and leadership roles.
“It is essential to create opportunities in a sector historically dominated by men, where inclusion allows women to have a positive and transformative impact. From the outset, Inchcape has supported this initiative as a strategic ally, reaffirming its commitment to inclusion and diversity,” stated Yolanda Salazar, Compliance Manager for Inchcape Americas.
Additionally, Yolanda, along with Nancy Soto, Head of Talent for Inchcape Andean Cluster (Peru and Bolivia), are part of the strategic team that participated in the creation of the WIAS association and currently play an active role in its development. Together with industry leaders, they drive the empowerment of women within the automotive industry.
Through WIAS, women will have access to a valuable network of partners who will share experiences, learnings, and strategies to attract and retain talent. This exchange will enable the development of projects and the implementation of high-impact initiatives that accelerate change and increase the visibility of female leadership in the automotive sector.
“We believe in talent, not gender quotas. WIAS emerges in response to an automotive industry undergoing profound technological and cultural transformation. Promoting female participation means fostering diversity, innovation, and collaborative leadership,” added Alexandra Bonnemaison, Vice President of Strategic Development at WIAS.
WIAS is built on four pillars that shape its strategy:
- Specialised training, including workshops, mentoring, coaching, and access to repositories of best practices.
- Events and community, fostering the creation of spaces to generate visibility through the sharing of experiences, success stories, and development opportunities.
- Partnerships, enabling private companies, academia, and sector organisations to co-create solutions and programmes.
- Leader dialogue, promoting technical roundtables to drive equity policies and an inclusive culture.
Main challenges
Among the most significant challenges are the need for greater visibility through data, the promotion of a culture of opportunities, the transformation of the female mindset, and the drive for transversal and inclusive change.
Through WIAS, women will have access to a network of social networks that fosters the exchange of experiences and strategies to attract and retain talent, driving high-impact projects that increase the visibility of female leadership. Currently, the platform includes 15 women members from leading automotive companies, including Inchcape.
Inchcape champions female leadership
Active participation in WIAS reaffirms the company's and its strategic partners' commitment to the sustainable development of female talent in Peru, as part of the company's global vision and in line with its Accelerate+ strategy. A clear example is that of the company's 1,000 employees (72% men/28% women), 30% of women hold leadership positions, including Mirtha Vidalón, Director of Retail & Network, who is the first woman in 100 years to be part of the AAP Board of Directors.
Additionally, the group has the IN Women Network, a regional initiative with over 400 female volunteers aiming to strengthen a supportive culture and gender equity.
With active participation in WIAS, Inchcape strengthens its policies on equal opportunities and inclusion. In this way, more women will be able to develop their careers to become leaders in the Peruvian automotive industry.