Lakshmi Moorthy, CEO and MD of Arval UK

“We are delighted to join the Automotive 30% Club as a Patron member, as its aim of seeking to improve gender balance and make the workplace an equitable environment aligns with our own ethos, and we want to play our part in this industry-wide initiative.”

Why we believe diversity and inclusion matters

At Arval UK, we believe Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is good for people and good for business. Bringing wider representation to our teams is essential to generating broader ideas, creating new perspectives and making better decisions.

About the Arval UK DEI Commitments Charter

We are already committed to three key objectives under the Arval DEI Commitments Charter. It supports a zero-tolerance approach against discriminatory behaviours within recruitment and promotions processes, a reduction in the gender-based salary gap, and promises to provide employees with a secure environment that protects their health.

What do these aims deliver in practical terms

In recruitment, we promote gender-balanced interview panels and shortlists, clearer hiring standards, and increased HR involvement in leadership interviews. In career development, we have reviewed talent programmes, offering female-focused leadership programmes, and transformed entry-level hiring to focus on potential. In health, we are committed to hybrid working, facilitating job shares and part-time arrangements, boosting maternity and paternity benefits, and introducing returner coaching.

How else we integrate DEI into our plans

We also support a range of targeted programmes. ‘Women in Action’ was launched in 2021 to help develop future leaders, ultimately increasing the number of women in senior roles. It has created a thriving mentorship and networking platform for women, while a further initiative, ‘Women in IT’ has been similarly successful within our technology function. We are also investing in early career development and in 2024, recruited in more than 800 people under 30 worldwide.

How we believe DEI needs to be monitored

Like the Automotive 30% club, we believe transparency towards our DEI ambitions is crucial. For example, we report annually on our gender pay gap and are making progress. Our mean hourly pay gap decreased by 2.3% last year - thanks to ongoing equal pay adjustments made using a specially created tool and targeted budget allocation during annual pay reviews.

We look forward to going even further as part of our Patron membership in the Club

While we are pleased by such achievements, we recognise we still have further to travel in increasing the representation of women. Joining the Automotive 30% Club is part of that journey, and through our patron membership with the Automotive 30% Club, we look forward to exchanging ideas and best practices with others in our industry.