A short cut over the green strip, just missing the crash barrier on the left – Lena’s drive on the country road at night is wild. She responds to the advice to slow down by accelerating even further. „It doesn’t matter, it’s fun!“ Julisa Le watches the scene on the driving simulator of the light laboratory with a smile. The engineer helped develop the rear lights of the new Grandland and is now working on lighting technologies of the future. Just under ten per cent of colleagues in the lighting team are women. That’s exactly why the schoolgirls are here today – to get them excited about technical professions in which women are still underrepresented. 

Strengthening diversity and equality 

„With our commitment, we want to strengthen diversity and equality – and open up new opportunities for you,“ Florian Huettl welcomes the participants in the morning at the Opel headquarters. For the first time, this includes a group of boys. After all, technical professions are not just for young women and social professions are also for boys. That’s why Opel is inviting both genders to „Girls‘ and Boys‘ Day“ this year to discover atypical career fields. 

Explore lighting technology? Tinkering in the infotainment lab? Want to get to know the company medical service? Or experience a day as a plant firefighter? Preferably everything! The offer is in huge demand. „The 180 places were quickly taken,“ says Saskia Harms, responsible for Opel vocational training and diversity and integration in Germany. „Girls‘ Day“ has been around since 2001 – today it is the largest career orientation project for schoolgirls from the 5th grade onwards worldwide. Opel has been involved since the very beginning. 

A day full of possibilities 

„The event thrives on the great commitment of our colleagues,“ emphasises Saskia Harms. Nine workshops for girls, one for boys – the women’s network „Women of Stellantis“ in particular supports the day. With warm-up games, they welcome the young visitors to the auditorium. Who recognises the Grandland or the Frontera without an Opel Blitz at the front? The audience proves to be surprisingly Opel-affine – although only just under half have a family member in the company. 

Whether ‘Experience automotive production up close’, ‘Let the robots work for you’ or ‘Program and remotely control a car’ – the workshops on digitisation and electrification in automotive engineering are extremely popular. In the process, the participants gain insights that are the envy of many: In the otherwise shielded development centre, the girls watch hexapod robots as they test infotainment screens with three pens – they simulate the index, ring and middle fingers. 

„A year ago, the infotainment test laboratory moved into Rüsselsheim in this form,“ says Michael Mausbach, who is responsible for simulation and test applications. It serves as a blueprint for similar laboratories worldwide. The control units are operated remotely from India or the USA, dozens of racks are distributed throughout the hall, filled to the brim with high-tech, colourful cables, glowing diodes and connected computers. Here, models simulate real-world conditions, test software, check resilience and prepare over-the-air updates. 

Boys are fully committed 

Meanwhile, sensitivity is required at the company medical service. In a building in the middle of the factory premises, the boys gather around a lounger. On top of it lies a training dummy for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Emergency paramedic Lena Kahl shows how to save a life. The participants are impressed – also by the responsibility and skills of a nurse. On the first floor, Marion Jantschek and Katja Quabeck explain how vision and hearing tests work. The two nurses praise the participants: inquisitive, curious, fully engaged.