The Women in Nordic Intelligent Transport Systems project (WIN-ITS 2) has been successfully closed, following a final workshop on 7 April and a closing webinar on 22 May.

Throughout the project, participating ITS organisations from Norway, Iceland, Estonia and Finland organised events to promote women and diversity in their organisations. Additionally, EIT Urban Mobility and Trivector Traffic held two webinars – one about inclusive mobility planning on 26 February 2025 and another about women’s career in the ITS sector on 26 March 2025.

In this final webinar, experts and stakeholders came together to discuss one pressing question. How can we move from talking about diversity to implementing diversity in mobility and transport?

Diversity in mobility affects everyone

A recurring theme in the discussions was the perception that gender diversity only affects a small group, rather than being important to everyone. Jenny Simonsen, COO at ITS Norway, emphasised, “it’s not just a gender question – it involves all of us, when it comes to education and attracting young people into the mobility sector.” This early awareness lays the groundwork for those who will work in the sector in the future.

Each country faces different obstacles to diversity

Each country faces its own hurdles in regards of diversity in mobility and transport. In Denmark, for instance, gender and diversity guidelines for mobility planning exist, but are often too generic and not context-specific. “It is very difficult for them [the people working with mobility and transport] to work with the guidelines and strategies when they are not specific to gender and diversity,” noted Michala Hvidt Breengaard, Postdoctoral Researcher at Copenhagen University.

Anna Guðrún Stefánsdóttir, Transportation and Planning Engineer at Verkís and representative of ITS Iceland, highlighted the lack of diversity in the transport sector in Iceland, noting that “it is a very homogenous group – there are nearly no immigrants.”

She emphasised that change must begin in schools, underscoring the importance of early education in promoting diversity, increasing immigrant participation in higher education, and ultimately, in the workforce.

Incorporating gender equality into wider discussions

Sanni Remonen, Project Manager at ITS Finland, noted that it is often difficult to “get people to attend if the events are purely about gender equality.” For this reason, she explained, they try to “approach the topic [of gender equality] from the perspective of ITS-related topics, and include gender equality within the discussion rather than making it the main focus.”

Tailored communication to increase the outreach

To improve outreach on the topic of diversity within ITS organisations, engaging in active conversations with members proved useful for tailoring communication efforts.

After ITS Estonia organised two events about women’s leadership and inclusive urban planning, they adjusted their weekly newsletter. “We did one-on-one sessions with the company owners, and we tried to map out who should be involved within our weekly newsletter. […] This has brought a lot of change in responses to the events. We have had a lot of interest from outside our organisations, and people asking how they can join in.”, said Lili Kuusk, CEO of ITS Estonia.

Creative approaches to raise awareness

In Denmark, Michala Hvidt Breengaard’s team developed a game and video series as part of an educational programme to creatively communicate ideas about diversity and sustainability in mobility. These tools help make complex issues more accessible and relatable, particularly for those outside the policy or academic spheres.

For example, they developed a board game similar to Ludo. Players draw cards that either prompt them to answer questions about inclusivity in mobility or simulate real-life obstacles – for instance, if they are in a wheelchair, they may have to move a few steps back due to travel barriers.

Diversity in mobility: a shared commitment

Ultimately, the conversation in the webinar and workshop stressed the need for collaboration and mutual encouragement for more diversity in the mobility and transport sector. As Stefánsdóttir said, “keep pushing each other and trying things together – just like men have done over the years.” It’s about building momentum through shared learning, visibility and proactive inclusion.

The insights from this workshop point to a clear path: move beyond just talking and keep pushing the boundaries of who is heard and who leads.

This webinar is co-organised by EIT Urban Mobility and Trivector Traffic. You can find the recording of the webinar here.

The Women in Nordic ITS 2 (WIN-ITS 2) project is co-funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, EIT Urban Mobility, Trivector Traffic, ITS Estonia, ITS Finland, ITS Iceland and ITS Norway.