Six Women@Renault Teams to contest in the Aïcha des Gazelles rally

On March 17, 2012, six teams from the Women@Renault network will line up for the start of the 22nd Aïcha des Gazelles rally.

This year, the two-women crews will take to the Moroccan desert behind the wheel of four Dacia Dusters in the SUV class and two in the 4×4 category.

This all-female rally provides an opportunity to promote the Women@Renault plan, which aims to empower women in the workplace. Underscoring its belief that diversity is a cornerstone of company performance, Renault is actively promoting the role of women in the workplace, in particular through the Women@Renault plan and its community network, both launched in March 2010. All the applicants who volunteered to compete in the 2012 Aïcha des Gazelles Rally are members of the Women@Renault network. Some 220 women took part in the selection process.

Renault organised a weekend event to select the competitors. Applicants were given a real taste of what the event involved. They were put to the test in sports and technical competitions in rally-like conditions and attended selection interviews with panels of interviewers.

Once the six teams were selected (four in the SUV class and two in the 4×4 category), the competitors did two training courses in orienteering and sand-driving techniques in order to test their ability to withstand and adapt to the harsh conditions – and put the vehicles through their paces prior to the actual event.

The 12 participants are from Brazil, Mexico, Poland and France. Of varying backgrounds, the women work in a range of functions, from engineering to manufacturing and sales. “During the selection process, the women also demonstrated that their commitment to this tough event was firmly anchored in Renault’s core values, which underpin the Women@Renault plan, namely determination, professionalism, team spirit and solidarity,” said Claire Martin, Renault’s Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility.