Increasing the gender balance in car retailing matters

Women account for around half of all car drivers and buyers, yet the number of females in motor retailing remains very low, especially in senior roles. Not only are dealers missing out on a vast talent pool of women, but they also risk overlooking the impact that a different viewpoint could make on their business approach and how they meet the buying needs of women, which can be subtly different from men's.

Given that many dealers refer to themselves as ‘family’ businesses, arguably, increasing the involvement and leadership of women could potentially better reflect a family ethos.

These are some of the reasons behind MotoNovo’s GROW (Generating Real Opportunities for Women) network, which is far from being a women-only network. Men are very welcome and tell us how much they have gained from participating in the online and in-person events.

While recruiting, developing and promoting more women is GROW’s primary goal, we know that people joining the events have benefitted from understanding how a more gender inclusive approach can help their business.

For example, ensuring public-facing content (website, social media, advertising) includes images of women, both customers and staff, can help in marketing. In recruitment, reaching outside the automotive industry for candidates in other sectors like hospitality and retail while hosting events specifically for women, such as service events, explaining a car’s maintenance needs can help break down gender barriers and address macho perceptions to create customers and aid recruitment.

MotoNovo is far from alone in promoting greater gender diversity in car retailing. The latest Car Dealer Podcast (Number 170) discusses the lack of female representation within the UK car industry. It highlights the reality that the industry is not attracting enough female talent or enabling women to progress to more senior positions.

The podcast features a discussion between Car Dealer’s Associate Editor James Bachelor and Julia Muir, founder of the Automotive 30% Club, a network of automotive CEOs and MDs, including MotoNovo’s MD Richard Jones, who is working to close the gender gap.

In the podcast, Julia highlights the fact that a lack of female representation remains a weakness within the motor trade. For this reason, the Automotive 30% Club set itself a goal to increase female representation in the sector, with a target of seeing at least 30% of leadership positions filled by women by 2030.

We want to encourage even more dealers to join GROW, so if you are keen to give it a try, contact the team at [email protected]. To date, dealers have unanimously found it to be a positive step.