Paul Philpott, President and CEO, Kia UK Ltd.

“Kia UK was proud to be one of 12 founder members of the Automotive 30% Club in 2016. I’m very pleased that following a strong focus on diversity & inclusion internally and starting the discussion with our dealer partners on the importance of D&I, we are now upgrading to Silver membership.

As part of our Power On strategy we want Kia to drive progress in terms of the profile, representation and development of women. We want to be a brand that creates opportunities for everyone, and is recognised for doing this. With that in mind, we have asked that every Kia dealership across the UK, whether part of a group or stand-alone, should make a clear commitment towards achieving greater diversity.

Delivering a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce is critical for the future growth and success of Kia UK, as well as the wider automotive industry. Membership of the Automotive 30% Club enables us to work together across the sector to create diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces where everyone is welcomed, respected and enabled to play their part in helping us drive the future of mobility.

We know that diversity supports innovation and so it’s really important as a business to recognise each of our staff members individually and what they contribute. Our people are core to our business and we want to ensure that we have a positive, fair and open culture of belonging where each employee can show up as their authentic self.

At the start of 2023, Kia launched a new Inclusion Plan covering leadership, recruitment, talent and support for employees with a focus on diversity, inclusion and equity. As part of this plan, we partnered with Moving Ahead to deliver inclusive leadership training for all staff; to tackle gender stereotypes, call out discrimination and draw attention to bias. We’ve also been updating our policies and reviewing our recruitment and development offerings to help us to become a better and more diverse employer."