A woman’s place is in Rail!

As the European Rail Supply Industry, UNIFE is a reflection of its members and strives to represent the best of our sector. Our mission is to promote rail as the backbone for not only Europe’s mobility system but the society that it enables. The association endorses a future in which women are given equal agency within, and impact on, the communities in which they live and work. We also recognise that the best place to initiate change is with yourself.

At the UNIFE level, the association announced its Gender Equity Policy during its 2022 General Assembly in Paris. The policy calls attention to gender disparities in rail, advocates for increased equity as essential to our sector’s optimal performance and reiterates suppliers’ obligation to address these divides. It also highlights working conditions that limit the full participation of women and non-males.

This was followed by the creation of the UNIFE Gender Equity Advisory Group, which is currently working to assess the current situation of female employees throughout the industry, to understand barriers of entry for those wishing to have a fulfilling mobility career and to craft association position papers, statements and recommendations in order to ensure the optimal mobilisation of the rail community going forward.

As a next step, we are launching UNIFE's Women in Rail campaign, a further commitment to promote a gender-inclusive work environment and encourage more women to start careers in rail, ensuring greater representation of women in the railway sector.

As the European railway sector has historically encountered an unbalanced gender representation, prioritising gender equity is quintessential for the industry in order to move forward and achieve its full potential. Multiple studies have shown that companies with higher gender equality are more profitable and innovative, therefore, it is important for the European Rail Supply Industry to invest in female empowerment initiatives including talent recruitment and leadership development. Furthermore, by fostering a culture of inclusion that supports professional development for women, the rail industry sector ensures that it is taking full advantage of the available talent pool which consequently leads to an increase in overall productivity and growth. Through this campaign, we are devoted to improving gender equity so that women can thrive at all levels of the industry.

Consequently, the European Union's Gender Equality Strategy 2021-2025 aims to improve gender balance across all sectors, including transportation. The primary objectives are closing gender gaps in the labour market, challenging gender stereotypes, closing the gender care gap, achieving gender balance in decision-making and addressing the gap between genders in pay. In order to attain this goal, the rail sector must ensure women and men are represented equally in its workforce.

This being said we encourage you to regularly check the topic on www.unife.org and our social media channels Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by following the hashtags #WomenInRail #GenderEquity #iWorkInRail #reThinkIndustry #EuropeanYearOfSkills #UnionOfEquality #WomenOnBoards

Should you wish to receive more information please do not hesitate to contact UNIFE Communications Manager: Rachely Burgos at rachely.burgos@unife.org /+32 2 626 12 67