International Women’s Day: Mercedes-Benz launches digital campaign to foster equal opportunity

What if we lived in a world where it was even more normal than it is today for women to pursue supposedly "male careers"? A world where gender is no longer an issue, because being a woman in certain areas is no longer the exception. That is the theme of the Mercedes-Benz campaign film for International Women’s Day 2023. Because despite widespread progress in recent decades on the subject of equal opportunity, the path must be consistently pursued. To raise awareness, the film focuses on three female protagonists who have close ties to the company. The brand with the iconic star logo is actively supporting them in achieving their goals and dreams.

In 2006, Mercedes-Benz was among the first German corporations to set itself a voluntary goal to increase the share of women in senior management positions to 20 percent by the end of 2020. This share is currently at almost 25 percent. With women still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degree programmes and related occupations, the advancement of women remains an important and challenging focus topic. As a next step, Mercedes-Benz aims to have 30 percent women in senior management by 2030. The Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG is almost 40 percent female, with three women among the eight members.

At the centre of the emotional campaign film is Reema Juffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, who is competing in the GT World Challenge at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT3. In addition, Adi Ofek, CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Tech Centre in Tel Aviv, and Johanna Weiss, a member of a team promoting diversity in eSports, will tell their own success stories in various social media formats.

The 60-second film takes place in a school: a place that tells the story of multiple generations of heroes of both sexes – and of gender stereotypes. The message: that it is time to drop the stereotypes and start taking women’s successes for granted – without putting their gender in the foreground.

Campaign detail

The campaign’s digital communications will be launched today – International Women’s Day – and communicated to the core markets of Mercedes-Benz worldwide. It is comprised of assets of 60, 30, 15 and 6 seconds as well as eye-catching social media posts.

Credits:

• Agency and post-production: team x
• Production company: Tempomedia Filmproduktion GmbH
• Director: Fiona J. Burgess
• Photography: Janine Sametzky
• Music: Soundtree Music

The protagonists

Reema Juffali was born in Jeddah in 1992. She is the first female racing driver from Saudi Arabia. She took an interest in sports and cars as a child and during her college years in the USA became a fan of motor sports and Formula 1. After earning a degree in international affairs, she got her driving licence in the USA in 2010, and treated herself to a three-day training course in a racing car – an exhilarating experience that made a lasting impression. When Saudi Arabia lifted its long-standing ban on women driving in 2017, Reema Juffali obtained her racing licence. She competed in her first race for Saudi Arabia in the F4 British Championship in 2019. In the same year, she became the first Saudi woman to race in an international race in her home country. Reema Juffali established her own team – Theeba Motorsport – in 2022, and has set up a series of internships and training programmes to offer greater access to motor sports for young Saudi Arabian women. The BBC selected her as one of the world’s most inspiring and influential women in 2022.

Adi Ofek was born in Israel in 1971 and studied business administration and finance at the University of Tel Aviv. She joined Daimler Financial Services in Tel Aviv as a credit risk manager in April 2000, and subsequently held various international management functions. In November 2007, she took on the role of Regional Credit Operations Director for the Africa/ Asia-Pacific Region in Singapore. From 2014 to 2016, Adi Ofek served as CEO of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services in Korea. Since November 2016, she has headed the Mercedes-Benz Tech Centre in Tel Aviv. In January 2019, Adi Ofek also assumed responsibility for vehicle IT security of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Her passion is empowering multinational teams to achieve outstanding results.

Johanna Weiss was born in 2001 and is a professional eSports competitor. She has been a passionate gamer since early childhood. Just a year after getting her first computer at the age of 14, this native from Nuremburg played League of Legends for the first time. She’s currently playing in the SK Gaming Project Avarosa – a German team promoting equal opportunity for female and non-binary gamers. Johanna’s goal is to be among the best. But she does not want to stand out just because she is a woman. She wants to go head to head with the best players and come out on top.

The She’s Mercedes Initiative

Mercedes-Benz has been engaged in an intensive dialogue with women around the world through its international "She’s Mercedes" initiative since 2015. The aim is to specifically address their individual mobility needs and offer them a special brand experience. In more than 70 countries, the platform follows the guiding principle of networking to facilitate an open and creative exchange relating to visionary future topics, courage and self-confidence. She’s Mercedes is also firmly established throughout the Mercedes-Benz Group in the form of targeted measures such as training courses and workshops in areas ranging from sales and communications through to after sales activities. More information on She’s Mercedes is available here.

Advancement of women at Mercedes-Benz

At Mercedes-Benz, the advancement of women begins with the young generation. The company participates in many job and career information days, for example, where girls and young women in particular gain insights into technical professions. The Genius educational initiative aims to inspire a passion for natural phenomena, technologies, mobility and digitalisation in female and male pupils alike. In this way, Mercedes-Benz gives girls the opportunity to discover their talents in the natural sciences, technology, mobility and digitalisation. Mercedes-Benz also offers a wide range of mentoring programmes for women in management and administration. In addition, international networks of and for women support the exchange of ideas and experiences.

The advancement of women is an area of action of the Diversity & Inclusion Management at Mercedes-Benz. The unit’s activities focus mainly on ensuring equal opportunity for all employees. Mercedes-Benz strives to attract the most highly qualified specialists and managers for the company, and to support their professional development – regardless of age, ethnic origin and nationality, gender and gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion and world view, sexual orientation and social background.

Further information about Mercedes-Benz is available at www.mercedes-benz.com. Press information and digital services for journalists and multipliers can be found on our Mercedes me media online platform at media.mercedes-benz.com as well as on our Mercedes-Benz media site at group-media.mercedes-benz.com. Learn more about current topics and events related to Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans on our @MB_Press Twitter channel at www.twitter.com/MB_Press.