Holcim’s Women on Wheels can drive and dream big

Every day, more than 180,000 Holcim truck drivers worldwide take to the roads to transport our advanced building solutions. One of these drivers is Angélica Almeida, a young woman who lives and works in Mexico.

After an early morning safety briefing, Angélica climbs into the cab of her concrete mixer, ready for a long day ahead in the plant, and later, on the dusty roads. Then, she heads to the loading area to load concrete, before receiving authorization to depart and deliver to our customers.

The work is tiring, yet rewarding, and as a single-mother Angélica is happy to earn a good living and thrive in a traditionally male-dominated working environment.

Women can keep on truckin’

In the past, brute strength was essential for a truck driver – whereas today skill and judgment are more valuable assets. At the same time, outdated stereotypes about women being “bad drivers” meant that they found it tough to get work in the profession.

Today when companies talk about diversity, they usually mean diversity at senior management level, not at every rung of the working ladder. At Holcim, we want to empower women like Angélica to go for jobs across every level of our organization where they are underrepresented.

To increase opportunities for women in transport, Holcim launched Women on Wheels (WoW) in Uganda in 2021, encouraging them to apply for jobs driving ready-mix trucks, aggregate haulers, bulk cement trucks and heavy mobile equipment.

Our progressive local team emphasized training, mentoring and coaching for the women, as well as equal pay and treatment, good working conditions and improved emergency response.

Mbabazi Sumaya, Women on Wheels, Uganda

Eunice Wambui Ndugire, Women on Wheels, Uganda

Mariam Maepe Mohammed, Women on Wheels, Uganda

A global success story

The scheme was a success, and in 2021 Holcim rolled out WoW globally with impressive results. By the end of 2023, more than 15 countries – from Ecuador to the UK and Jordan to Mexico – had launched this program, improving the lives of many women and their families.

Without knowing the concrete industry, I was looking for a way to join an incredible company. At first I had doubts, it was a challenge to start in a new job sector. But thanks to my colleagues and instructors, I left these behind and feel like a valued member of the team.

Angélica| Women on Wheels

Today hundreds of women like her proudly transport Holcim’s products to our customers. They have steady jobs that they enjoy, and are blazing a trail in their communities and the construction industry by breaking old stereotypes. In more conservative societies in particular, our WoW are showing that women can not only drive trucks well, but thrive in the world of work.

“Women can drive and dream big!”

With this work comes financial independence, which allows our female drivers to send their kids to school. This brings further social benefits and hope for future generations. Our Women on Wheels give a powerful message to young girls in their communities: “You can drive and dream big, and be whatever you want to be when you grow up!”

The program has also brought road safety and sustainability benefits, with performance measurements made as part of the program showing that, on average, our female drivers are safer on the roads, use less fuel and tend to be more punctual.

As a result, Holcim is benefitting from lower fuel usage and emissions, and reduced truck maintenance costs. Our customers are happy too, with some even expressly requesting female drivers deliver their goods, which helps break down stereotypes about women beyond Holcim.

Better driving performance

In the spirit of friendly competition, the women’s success has even inspired some of our male truck drivers to improve their own performance, leading to overall improvements in road safety.

The success of WoW is such that it is attracting interest from other organizations, and winning corporate awards. For example, Holcim Ecuador won a Gold Effie Award in the Corporate Reputation category, while the scheme won the Women’s Economic Empowerment Award at the Gender Mainstreaming Awards in Kenya. It has also been shortlisted for awards in the UK.

Women on Wheels benefits women, who are empowered and gain a livelihood, men, who are driving more safely, and our customers, who are more satisfied because they receive their orders on time. By breaking down stereotypes, we’re encouraging girls and women to enter jobs previously reserved for men.

Astrid van der Burgt| Holcim Group Head of Road Safety

If you are looking for an opportunity to turn your life around, I invite you to live the experience of being part of the Holcim family.

Angélica| Women on Wheels

DID YOU KNOW?

Diverse workforces drive innovation and higher performance if given the right supporting conditions. That’s why at Holcim, we launched the “Right Mix”, a female empowerment program aimed at getting more women to join the Holcim team and building an environment where we celebrate uniqueness, ensure equal treatment, and inspire personal and professional growth.

As part of the program, the “SHE” movement focuses on three work streams: “SHE sells” (more women in sales), “SHE operates” (more women in operations) and “SHE leads” (more women in leadership). Through initiatives like Women on Wheels, we are encouraging women to join Holcim’s operations and showing them the possibilities they have to learn and grow as part of our team. Our Women on Wheels are also role models in their communities, inspiring other women to join a traditionally male-dominated sector.