“Be courageous, be resilient, form partnerships”
Women remain underrepresented in the transportation sector. About 400 women gathered at the Women in Mobility Luncheon at InnoTrans 2026. In addition, the EU presented four Women in Rail Awards.
Participants and rail industry representatives gathered at the Women in Mobility Luncheon at InnoTrans to discuss diversity, equal opportunities and career paths in the transport sector. Photo: Messe Berlin
Ten years ago, the Women in Mobility (WiM) network met for the first time at InnoTrans—with just 40 participants at the time. By 2026, that number had grown tenfold: Around 400 women from the industry attended the luncheon to exchange ideas at the world’s largest trade show for transportation technology. The growing participation shows that the issue of gender equality is gaining visibility in the transportation sector. However, the industry is still a long way from achieving gender parity.
Only 22 percent of employees in the transportation sector are women, 23 percent in the rail sector, and as few as three percent among train operators, reported Magda Kopczyńska, Director General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission, in her keynote address. Traditionally, the industry has been perceived as technical, challenging, and sometimes even boring. However, this perception is changing, particularly among younger women.
“We need a balance here,” said Kopczyńska. Society is made up of equal numbers of men and women. A transportation sector that wants to function well, be resilient, and be sustainable therefore also needs the ideas and perspectives of that segment of the population that has been underrepresented thus far.
Tapping into the Entire Talent Pool
Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), summed it up with an analogy: Why should an industry voluntarily face competition when it has “one hand tied behind its back”? She noted that the rail industry has so far failed to make sufficient use of a large portion of its talent pool, thereby depriving itself of opportunities.
Elisabeth Böhm is one of those women who have spent their entire careers in technology-driven industries: first at the elevator manufacturer Otis, and now as Vice President of Human Resources for Central and Northern Europe at the rail manufacturer Alstom. She offered three pieces of advice to women who want to make their mark in a male-dominated industry: “Be courageous. Be resilient. Build partnerships.”
Courage means stepping outside your comfort zone and seizing opportunities when they arise. Resilience also means having patience and waiting for the right moment to take the next step. Strong networks and partnerships are just as important.
“Open doors for other women,” Böhm urged the participants. Women need to form alliances, because mobility is not only moving people but also enabling people to move on in their careers.
Women in Rail Awards for Innovation and Inclusion
In addition to networking and individual support, structural initiatives are also needed to attract more women to the rail industry and increase their visibility. These include the European Commission’s Women in Rail Awards. The awards recognize women and companies that are committed to gender equality, innovation, supporting the next generation, and improvements in rail operations, among other things.
Four awards were presented at the WiM Luncheon: to the rail logistics company Captrain for Women Empowerment and Leadership; to transportation researcher Cecília Vale of the University of Porto in the category of Research & Innovation in Rail; to Suzanne Flynn, Head of Talent Development at Irish Rail, for Next Generation in Rail; and to Réka Németh, Head of Infrastructure at the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), for Women in Rail Operations.
Around 400 women from the mobility sector attended the Women in Mobility Luncheon at InnoTrans to network and exchange professional perspectives. Photo: Messe Berlin