Stellantis’ Uvarova to celebrate resilience on International Women’s Day

Stellantis’ Maria Uvarova is to highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry at the next Women Automotive Network global virtual meetup in celebration of International Women's Day.

​Uvarova, a senior vice president of software product management at Stellantis will deliver a keynote speech titled: ‘Building resilience & getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.’

She will shed light on the critical need for DEI initiatives within the automotive sector and the benefits they can bring, not just to companies, but to customers and end users too.

Drawing from her extensive experience in the industry, Uvarova will address the historical oversight of women and other underrepresented groups in both employment and customer demographics.

“For years, women and other diversity groups were overlooked, not only as employees but as customers in the automotive industry," said Uvarova. “Even test dummies were all modelled on white, young men.

“Now we see that our customers are very diverse and different, and we need to make sure that leadership groups in automotive are diverse as well – only then can we adequately respond to ongoing transformation."

Uvarova's session will provide invaluable insights into the importance of cultivating diverse leadership teams to meet the evolving needs of today's diverse customer base and navigate the industry's ongoing transformation.

The Women Automotive Network Meetup: International Women’s Day Celebration will take place on March 8 at 12 noon.

The event will feature a lineup of inspiring speakers, informative panel discussions, and interactive workshops focused on promoting unity, inclusion, and empowerment within the automotive industry.

2024 speakers include:

Diana Niu, VP Group People & Culture, Volvo Group

Friederike Kienitz, SVP Sustainability, Nissan Motor Corporation

Maxine Hartley, DE&I Taskforce Chair, SMMT

Olena Rykhlivska, CIO Small Markets Asia, Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG

Tanja Kirsch, Head of IT Infrastructure, Daimler Truck

To register to attend, and to view the full agenda, please visit here.

For those based in the UK, join the pre-event cocktail reception on March 7, co-hosted with Automechanika UK in Birmingham. Find out more here.