Ahead of the upcoming Berlin E-Prix, ABB Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Committee Member, Carolina Granat discusses her aim to help inspire women, the importance of the removal of the barriers and unconscious bias that hinder female involvement in traditionally male-dominated industries and the benefit of programs like FIA Girls on Track.
“It’s very important, both for us but also all the companies in our industry, to really motivate girls to go into technology studies in the STEM space,” says Granat.
This weekend, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns to Berlin. The electric racing series is not only a platform for technological development and helping to create a more sustainable future, but also an opportunity to encourage and promote social progress – a key element of our Sustainability Strategy 2030.
As part of this strategy, ABB became an Official Global Partner of the FIA Girls on Track Formula E Project in May 2021. This grassroots program seeks to improve female equality, empowering the next generation of women by encouraging them into STEM careers and ultimately helping to build a more diverse future. This partnership is a tangible example of how we are working with the communities of which we are a part, to drive progress in terms of diversity, inclusion and equality.
Using the platform provided by ABB Formula E, FIA Girls On Track runs workshops at select races throughout the season, to both inspire and show practical support for girls aged 12 - 18 considering careers in motorsport or other engineering-related fields. ABB’s workshop is focused on robotics, giving the girls the opportunity to learn basic programming with one of our collaborative robots – YuMi or GoFa. So far this season, we’ve held workshops at the races in Mexico City, Diriyah and São Paulo, with the next event taking place at the Jakarta E-Prix in June.
