#SheShapesMobility: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2022

Across almost the entire mobility industry, female specialists in technical professions are still seen as venturing into new territory. This has to change. As part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, Knorr-Bremse is committed to gender equality and has been an active member of the Target Gender Equality initiative of the UN Global Compact since 2021. The program aims to contribute to women’s participation on an equal footing in the business world, including equal opportunities for leadership positions. In its recruiting activities, Knorr-Bremse is constantly on the lookout for well-qualified young women – after all, the company’s success depends on attracting the brightest and most committed minds. Knorr-Bremse opens up exciting prospects in a broad range of professional fields for all talents: regardless of whether they discovered their passion for technology during childhood or after a number of detours. This is demonstrated by our female employees, who are helping us to shape the mobility of tomorrow. Today we present four of them:

Mónika Godo: Shaping sustainable mobility

How does sustainable thinking translate into responsible action? Mónika Godó makes it happen at Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems in Budapest. As EcoDesign Coordinator, Mónika has the opportunity to improve the environmental impact of a Knorr-Bremse product throughout its entire life cycle. For the environmental and industrial engineer, the field of ecological product design is a true vocation: “I am strongly committed to environmental protection and sustainable development. My position lets me bring my full personality to the profession and contribute to the implementation of sustainable products. There are not many women working in the railway industry, but I am happy to see that professional competence is all that counts at our company.”

Cécile Daveau: Women make the industry future-proof

French Sales and Project Manager Cécile Daveau also brings her work and personal values into perfect harmony at Knorr-Bremse: “Through my work in the rail industry, I contribute to more sustainable transport every day.” At Systèmes Ferroviaires France in Tinqueux, Cécile is responsible for the OE business of IFE, the entrance systems specialists in the Knorr-Bremse Group. Together with her customers, she develops future-facing mobility solutions. After graduating from a university of engineering, Cécile started out as a development engineer. She served as a production manager in the connector industry and then joined Knorr-Bremse 14 years ago. She first managed a major project for the French market for seven years, then switched from braking to door systems. Based on her experience, Cécile knows: “Women’s social and technical skills are essential if industry is to succeed in meeting the challenges posed by the 21st century.”

Joanne Stone: From literature to logistics

While Cécile’s interest in technical subjects was established at an early age, Joanne Stone was a young yet seasoned professional when she landed her dream job – as Trade Compliance Import/Export Manager at Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (UK) in Melksham. Joanne’s story is testament to how openness towards talent from outside the industry pays off in recruiting. How else would the literature graduate have ended up in logistics at Knorr-Bremse? “Your work and career make up such a big part of your life – so you’d better be doing something you enjoy and that suits you,” says Joanne. Already experienced in marketing, recruitment and purchasing, she discovered her passion for logistics around ten years ago. She steadily built up her logistics expertise and has now found her place at Knorr-Bremse. There, at the Melksham site, she leads a team that looks after all shipments arriving in or being shipped from the UK. What Joanne likes best about her job? The multi-faceted topics, the development opportunities and her team! Joanne expresses her ethos so memorably that it could be emblazoned on T-shirts: “A good team is half the battle. With the right people behind you, you can rise to any challenge!”

Yvonne Ramesberger: A roundabout way to the right job

From pastry chef to mechatronics engineer – Yvonne Ramesberger’s career path is also unusual, yet it follows a certain kind of script: her love of technology and mobility. Even at a young age, Yvonne was fascinated by bicycles. Yet before she ever got to grips with a workshop, she went to work in a bakery. Normative career choice expectations for a young person definitely played a role. The time was not yet ripe for a woman with Yvonne’s technical talent. Around 14 years ago, she started as a fitter at Knorr-Bremse in Aldersbach, rose to become a shift supervisor, then went “back to school” in 2021. Yvonne began her training as a Mechatronics Technician. “Especially in technical fields, women often have to prove themselves before people take them seriously, but fortunately that’s also gradually changing,” Yvonne reports. She loves productive, hands-on work and is always willing to learn new things – right now she is immersed in the world of electronics. Yvonne also finds the teamwork very fulfilling: “You have to be humble enough to listen to others. But also strong enough to listen to yourself!”

Yvonne, Mónika, Cécile, Joanne and thousands of Knorr-Bremse colleagues worldwide – they are all working with us to shape the mobility of tomorrow and #BreakTheBias. We thank them for all their efforts!