Diversity and inclusion in automotive under the spotlight in new webinar series – AM

Auto Trader and Ennis & Co are collaborating on a new series of webinars to bring together leaders in the automotive sector to discuss and share diversity and inclusion (D&I) best practice.

Ennis & Cos founder and director, Lynda Ennis, will be joining the next episode of Auto Traders Courageous Conversations webinar series, alongside Haymarket Automotives managing director, Rachael Prasher, to discuss the role of political correctness and PC language in the workplace.

Within the context of a fast-evolving PC landscape and popular social movements, as well as a growing cancel culture, the one-hour webinar will explore where the struggles are with understanding what is and isnt acceptable. The session will also be looking at what steps businesses can take to ensure their D&I strategies are adapting in accordance to the changing PC landscape.

Courageous Conversations is open to everyone and will take place from 14:30 15:30 on April 21. The webinar is accessible at: https://bit.ly/CC-Ep4.

The webinar will be followed by the third annual Making Diversity & Inclusion a Business Reality event on May 4, in which HR directors, MDs and CEOs from leading retail and manufacturing brands, as well as trade bodies, will come together to share their D&I experiences and identify practical solutions to driving greater diversity within their businesses and across the wider industry.

The two-hour digital seminar will feature panel discussions, brand new research findings, and guest speakers from outside of automotive.

Daksh Gupta, Marshall Motor Group CEO, who has been closely involved with the event since its launch in 2017, said: I am very much looking forward to being involved in the Making Diversity and Inclusion a Business Reality in partnership with Ennis and Co and Auto Trader. Whilst we are starting to see some real traction on gender diversity across the sector, and certainly within Marshall, theres clearly more work to be done to make our businesses more accessible, attractive and inclusive to a wider talent pool than we have today.

"With our combined commitment and drive from across the sector, I have every confidence we really can make Diversity and Inclusion our business reality.

Marshall Motor Groups HR director (HRD), Jo Moxon, will join other people leads on a panel to discuss the impact of the pandemic on their D&I strategies, and why its more important than ever to focus on their diversity commitments. Shell be joined by Mandeep Dhatt, HRD for McLaren Automotive, Penny Weatherup, HRD for Volkswagen Group UK, Laura Haskins, HRD for CitNOW, and Alison Fisher, HRD for Cox Automotive International.

Auto Traders group sales director, Rebecca Clark (pictured), wholl be hosting the panel, said: At a time when the industry has faced so many unprecedented challenges, and been forced to undergo such a significant transition, we wanted to bring together the leading brands and thought leaders to understand just how vital diversity and inclusion will be to the future success of the market.

"The huge response weve received from the industrys most senior stakeholders speaks volumes about how much a priority this issue is for businesses, and their ongoing commitment to bring about change in the automotive industry.

Leading a second panel discussion, Al Clarke will be speaking with Nissan UKs managing director, Andrew Humberstone, Facebooks global category director, automotive, Geraldine Ingham, and member of the board for people, digitalisation and IT at Bentley, Dr Astrid Fontaine, about the integral role D&I will play in the future health of the automotive market

Lynda Ennis, founder and director of Ennis & Co, added: Bringing back Making Diversity and Inclusion a Business Reality this year is extremely important to Ennis & Co for several reasons. Firstly, it allows us the chance to revisit core diversity and inclusion themes that emerged in 2018 and 2019 and secondly, to benchmark how far we have come as an industry during this time. Thirdly, and importantly it also allows us to be together, albeit virtually, to discuss the subject we feel so passionate about.

"As automotive and mobility continue to experience change at an alarming rate I feel confident that positive aspects of diversity and inclusion have accelerated over the past couple of years, and I am looking forward to delving into this in further detail.

Making D&I a Business Reality is open to everyone and will take place from 11:00 13:00 on May 4. The webinar is accessible at: http://bit.ly/MDIBR-21.

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Diversity and inclusion in automotive under the spotlight in new webinar series - AM