Motor Trader caught up with four high profile women in automotive and got their take on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
The motor sector offers a diverse range of career options and women are playing prominent roles at the top of the profession. Take Sue Robinson, CEO of the National Franchised Dealers Association, heading up the interests of thousands of UK car dealers. Then there’s Jacqui Barker, OEM strategy director at technology group Keyloop, Kate Clay, an award-winning human resources director at eStar Truck & Van and Sally Foote, the chief operating officer of Sell My Car at Carwow. They all share insights into their individual journeys and explored wider issues within the industry.
Safe spaces
Joining eStar, Clay made a raft of incisive changes to the business – implementing appraisals, one to ones, benefit reviews, and improving absence rates. Clay’s work on this earned her the HR Director of the Year title from HR Magazine and led to the eStar team being named HR Team of the Year at the Motor Trader Industry Awards 2023. One of the key focuses was creating inclusive and safe spaces for colleagues. She says: “We’re in a male-dominated environment, the customer base from a commercial vehicle point of view is male-dominated as well. We have done a lot of work to draw women to the business. We were 22% female in 2022, we are now at 43% (senior leaders that are women).
“Setting a culture where it’s inclusive and safe for women is where I think we are getting the attraction. We have the only female head of truck sales in Mercedes-Benz, Kate Carter, she’s just won woman of the year with Auto Trader, so we are so proud of her. We have two female GMs out of six now, which is brilliant, they were promoted internally.
“It kind of set that tone and culture for the business. That we wanted to look after the people, invest in the people, make sure that they are our biggest asset because that is what we truly believe.”
Confidence issue
One area where women in the industry can be supported is improving confidence. Foote of Carwow notes that the general confidence of female employees is typically less than their male peers.
She says: “We see this when it comes to candidates who apply for open roles, which employees are speaking up in (often) male-dominated rooms and which team members are taking on new projects – especially perhaps when they are not 100% qualified on paper. It’s why we’ve launched the Confidence Project, to share our findings and solutions and help others who are passionate about fostering confidence and leadership in their own organisation.”
What about outdated comments and banter? How prevalent is it now? Barker has direct views on these situations and good advice for all.
“We have to as women, work hard to gain the respect of people that we work with and you have to work harder to get into rooms that you are not invited into. The fact that anybody thinks it’s acceptable to go up to a woman at an event and suggest anything inappropriate is disgusting. It should be a safe space for all women. If you feel uncomfortable going to those events because you don’t know what you are going to get, then you don’t go, and it means that you don’t get the opportunity to go to events and network when you should. We work hard to be respected for our intelligence not the way that we look or dress.”
How inclusive and safe the industry is could make a big difference to confidence women have in joining it.
Outdated norms
Foote says that she has spent her career working in markets characterised by change and disruption and women are playing a pivotal role.
“That’s certainly true of automotive right now! The industry is incredibly adaptable, driving innovation, and it’s great to see that much of the change currently taking place is being spearheaded by women. In terms of the challenges of being a leader in a male-dominated industry, I think there is truth to the adage that you can’t be what you can’t see. We know there’s a lack of gender balance in our sector, across most levels, but especially senior leadership.
“That’s one of the reasons I was so happy for Carwow to be sponsoring the Drive Her Success podcast, designed to shine a spotlight on women working in automotive retail by sharing their career journeys, and helping those considering a job in the car industry to find out more. There are women at all levels in automotive retail and it’s important we see them and hear from them.”
Barker at Keyloop believes women in automotive are needed more than ever before.
“The prime target for automotive in terms of demographic are women that look like me, women that have more money, or women who are choosing to live alone, or women who don’t want kids or are having kids later.
“Women are a vital part of the workforce. If you want to sell to your prime audience and you haven’t got any women in your showrooms you are not going to connect with them. It is really important that you don’t just recruit men that look like you but you actually reflect the demographic that you are trying to sell to.”
Keyloop’s recently launched ERG ‘KeyShift’ is one example of how businesses in the automotive industry are being creating opportunities to support women. The launch of KeyShift involved a panel of women. Barker says Keyloop is forming the ERG’s pillars off the back of feedback from the launch.
“I always thought I was too bouncy for the boardroom. I have a certain energy but that energy is who I am. I am very passionate about the way that we deliver great solutions and work with customers and make it easier for people to buy cars. That has been my purpose – how can I work with businesses that enable the car buying process and do it well?
“The Barbara Cox award came out of the Cox Automotive ERG. Its massive to have recognition for stuff that you do, particularly when you are not expecting it. And I know that I was nominated by another woman in the industry. That meant a huge amount. I am very grateful for the respect that I have earned in the industry. I also know that women appreciate that some people stick their head above the parapet and actually do things to help other women, not just talk about it but create opportunity, hire them. I’ve hired really great men, too. I’m not just looking to hire women. I am looking to hire talent.”
‘WOW Women’, Carwow’s established group seeks to support Carwow’s female employees and improve representation of women across the company. It involves monthly in-person coffee sessions on themes such as speed networking, advocating for yourself and managing imposter syndrome. Creating a supportive wider industry begins with each business taking responsibility for their employees.
Clay echoes this sentiment. The most recent eStar engagement survey shows that 81% of employees feel the business has a supportive culture, up from 74% in 2023.
She says: “If you have people that you look after well, they will look after your customers and that has an impact on your profits. Engaged colleagues will produce a better performance because they are happier at work. A lot of people miss that. They go straight for… ‘we’ll cut the L&D budget, reign back on benefits, we won’t be able to do x, y and z people wise because we are focusing on other things. It is actually the people that should be focused on in the first place.”
“As part of D&I strategy there has been training on topics such as unconscious bias, and LGBTQ+ foundation training. It is something quite close to my heart – I want people to understand what it’s like to have an inclusive workforce and the motor trade can be quite backwards when it comes to things like that.”
Collaboration is a key theme, which is encouraged not least by the NFDA, with Robinson spearheading much of the discussion. Robinson adds: “Collaboration is essential across the industry, and working together on critical issues with these important networks is key to driving positive change. Many NFDA members encourage inclusive hiring practices and workplace environments that support career progression for women. Through schemes like Drive My Career, franchised retailers are creating rewarding careers for so many people from all walks of life.”
Visible empowerment of women in the auto industry in the present will encourage more women to join the industry in the future.
Empowering all apprentices
Apprenticeship programmes with rotational elements are key to ensuring traditional ‘gender roles’ do not seep into the industry. Perhaps a young woman in an apprenticeship group was put in the office but she wanted to learn to work with cars rather than just input spreadsheets.
Barker says: “Everybody worked in every department and you would gravitate towards the thing that excited you most, that you were really good at. Don’t just pigeonhole people into certain jobs because of the gender they are. Don’t make assumptions based on the gender of a person, give them the opportunity to grow in the way that they want to naturally grow.”
Of course, the NFDA’s Drive My Career has directly approached the subject of apprenticeships with campaigns such as #MyApprenticeshipStory (partnered with the Automotive 30% Club). Robinson says: “The campaign aims to promote gender diversity by sharing inspiring stories of female apprentices, further emphasising the industry’s commitment to inclusivity and equality. Through networking events, mentorship opportunities, and attending careers fairs, NFDA helps create spaces where women can connect, share experiences, and access professional development resources.”
Final thoughts
A look towards the future of the progress of women in the motor industry will include tough challenges. Bridging the pay gap in the industry is one of these challenges.
Clay reflects on her journey with eStar which began when she joined the business in July 2021. From a HR perspective, essentially, Clay brought what was a weak business in 2020 back to life and re-examined strategy and process. A full review of equal pay was a part of this.
She says: “I think some people still aren’t doing what they need to do with equal pay, it can sometimes be an afterthought. A lot of people running businesses at this level might look at everything but that. “It’s not even just about women, it’s about bringing people from different cultures as well. We have put in toilets for everyone, male toilets, female toilets. We’re looking at having prayer rooms at each site. The motor trade needs to get up to speed with the 21st century. Some businesses are better than others but some are still behind the times. Doing these sorts of initiatives will pull the motor trade into the 21st century.”
On diversity in the industry, Barker adds: “Not only are there not that many women in the industry but there are even fewer women of colour. We want to make sure it is a welcoming and inclusive industry and we certainly, as a tech provider, have a global footprint and we operate in many cultures.”
Foote offers some final thoughts, for now, on the subject of women in the motor industry.
She echoes the sentiment of many when she says: “I will continue to invest time and effort in my workplace and across my network to help champion women, encouraging them to create, take opportunities and connect to one another. I’m very grateful for everyone who has done the same for me – both men and women. My hope is that gender equality continues to progress in both the workplace and in society, to the extent that it becomes moot. We’ll all be better off when we reach that goal.”
Robinson ends on a high note. “When people think of the automotive industry, they often think of outdated stereotypes, but it is a highly diverse sector with a wide range of career opportunities. Drive My Career has played a vital role in promoting and championing these opportunities and we are proud of the role that it has played in helping to diversify the workforce. The challenges have generally been with ‘individuals and their perceptions of a female role within a working environment’.
“I have been guided and advised by a number of male colleagues who have given me an amazing amount of support and guidance, not to mention providing an ‘ear on a bad day’ – however there are still individuals who adhere to old style entrenched views and I imagine for those that is their view and it will be difficult to change – ‘not insurmountable’.”