The automotive industry has traditionally been dominated by men, but as this year’s Great British Women – Rising Stars event proved, this is changing. Career opportunities for women in the automotive sector are increasing.
Women are well represented across the automotive industry in marketing and HR, but I suspect that many of us choose these roles more because of the nature of the work, rather than because they are in the automotive sector.
Equally, the traditional perception is that male employees chose the automotive industry due to an interest in engineering and technology. But that need not be the case. For many roles, the sector isn’t as crucial as the job itself.
A fresh approach to diversity
We need to stop thinking in terms of ‘male and female’ and start widening our views on diversity, with a duty to ensure that doors are open to allow change to happen.
Greater diversity – whether gender, race, age, learning approach or communication style – benefits our businesses and our industry by creating a fresh dynamic, bringing different perspectives, new ideas and innovative thinking to the table.
This flows through to how we develop our products and communicate with our customers (who are diverse themselves). It’s worth noting that female buying habits are changing, with women now responsible for 45% of new car purchases.
By harnessing diversity, we will continue to innovate, produce, sell and service cars for all the drivers out there – female and male.
CDK Global: encouraging change
At CDK Global we believe it’s vital to be inclusive to all those with the right attitude and skill sets required to help our business be a success, and we support initiatives that attract diverse talent – especially at a time of huge tech disruption.
CDK Global has plenty of female employees in a number of departments, but I would like to see even more women branch into traditionally male domains – such as sales or engineering.
For those looking to break into the automotive industry, a key thing to remember is that a wide range of sectors offer highly relevant and transferable skills. The automotive world is diverse, exciting and always evolving, so individuals looking to get into the industry need to be adaptable, driven and comfortable with change.
The automotive sector continually produces exciting creative and technology-based opportunities. It would be great to see more women considering this sector as an area that’s right for them.
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