Volvo’s philosophy has always been to put people first. They put great pride in designing their cars in a way that protects all people equally — regardless of size or gender. Since the 1970s, their Accident Research Team have collected data from real-life crashes to identify what injuries in different accidents for men, women, and children. Therefore, all crash tests should equally represent women too.

Unfortunately, more often than not — that is not the case. Most crash tests are still based on male crash test dummies. Even when a female dummy is used, it is often a scaled-down male dummy. And statistics prove it. Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, 71% more likely to be moderately injured and 17% more likely to die in a car crash.

With the E.V.A. Initiative, we wanted to highlight this issue and offer all competitors to download Volvo’s data. The objective was not only to address the issue, but to close the gender crash gap. To make the data more human, we gave the facts a face and showed how it affects women in a personal and direct way.

The equality problem in the auto industry is global. Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, 71% more likely to be moderately injured and 17% more likely to die in a car crash. The reason? Most crash tests are based on male crash test dummies. Even when a female dummy is used, it is often simply a scaled-down male dummy.

As a result, it also has major financial and psychological consequences for women. In addition, 93% of all global road crash deaths occur in low/middle-income countries even though they only stand for 60% of fleet. One reason: unsafe cars. And until now, no OEM (original equipment manufacturer) has brought up the issue and recognized the reports published by universities and institutes all around the globe.

Even though there are many news articles addressing the problem across the world, there is still a long way to go when it comes to full equality of protection between men and women. More than anything, it reveals an unpleasant truth about today’s culture and a society still built for men. Feminist writer Caroline Criado-Perez also recently highlighted the issue in a new book about data.

Volvo’s philosophy has always been to put people first. 60 years ago, they gave away their three-point safety belt patent. So, we thought: what if we could get Volvo to make cars safer for everyone, once again?

And that’s exactly what we did. To make cars safer for women, we collected all of Volvo’s safety research and made it available to everyone. By creating a digital library with data from more than 43,000 collisions and 72,000 people, the research became open and free to any company to learn from.

For the first time ever, anyone could download more than 40 years of research and learn how it has led to some of Volvo’s most innovative systems. We then gave the numbers a face and showed how the injustice personally affects women in a global campaign with film, print, social, outdoor, and PR.

We found that 80% of all car purchases are influenced by women and that 63% of female buyers claim to do all research and purchasing on their own; their top priority being safety. Yet 3 in 4 women feel misunderstood by the industry.

When exploring the subject, we found a deadly truth. Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, 71% more likely to be moderately injured and 17% more likely to die in a car crash. The reason? Most crash tests are based on male crash test dummies.

Therefore, we saw an opportunity to to create real change in the car industry. Our aim was not only to address the issue, but also to take real action and close the gender crash gap. But to get people’s attention, we needed to show how this injustice affects women in a personal and direct way.

We collected all of Volvo’s safety research and made it available to everyone. To make the data more human, we gave the numbers a face and showed how it affects women in a personal and direct way. We then spread the message in a global campaign that included film, print, social, outdoor, and PR.

The film worked as an introduction for the initiative and as a tool to spread awareness. The print ad invited the audience to literally put their hand on the issue. Every campaign element directed people to the website which served as the main hub for the initiative.

At the touch of a button, anyone could download more than 40 years of safety research. But the main benefit was that automakers could actually learn how to implement this research and produce cars that are safe for everyone — regardless of size or gender.

The campaign quickly became news and sparked a global conversation about equal road safety. So far, the film has garnered over 85 millon views and has reached over 70 countries. It has appeared in over 450 articles and has been featured on newscasts and blogs all around the globe. With over 280 million social media impressions, we got the world talking about an issue many people were unaware of.

It also created a debate within the auto industry as other carmakers embraced the initiative, such as electric vehicle startup Uniti. But most importantly, more than 11,000 people have downloaded the data, which gives hope that EVA will improve the safety of women in all cars.

• Countries reached: +71

• Downloads from knowledge library: +11.000

• Film views: +85 million

• +450 news outlets

• Earned media reach: +317 million

• Social media reach: +90 million

• Engagement: +3 million

• Social media impressions: +280 million