Women in auto taking the wheel

It’s okay to live in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it.

But is the car industry really a man’s world?

©Sergey Peterman via 123RF

I don’t think it’s entirely true as anyone who's not in the industry, regardless of whether they're male or female, may equally be unaware of how the car industry really works.

However, the car industry is still very male dominant. There are very few female car dealers and unfortunately, their number won’t increase overnight. In an industry where having a strong network is very important, it’s harder for new entrants to break-in.

Removing stereotypes within the car industry

According to a study by research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan titled Women in cars, society should take this into consideration:

• Women are naturally very inquisitive. They do thorough research on what they don’t know. Dealers/buyers, therefore, need to prejudge less, as the female buyer has already done her homework.

• Women are becoming an increasingly powerful force in the marketplace. They are not a group that any manufacturer can afford to ignore. According to a Frost & Sullivan study, the majority of women are the decision-makers when buying a car for their family.
  
• An increase in earning power is pushing up the number of women who can afford to buy vehicles. 80% of car-buying decision is now influenced by women.
  
• There is a misconception that female drivers are worse than male drivers. According to Car Insurance.Org, women have been proven to be better and safer drivers. Car insurances offer women a better rate, as they are less likely to make reckless decisions and cause accidents.

Why women should be joining the car industry

There are many opportunities to excel within the car industry, however, new entrants (especially if female) may be intimidated by the gender preconceptions and may not apply for roles within the industry.

It makes sense to have more women working in the industry, not only to make female customers feel comfortable, but also to capitalise on their communication and problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Talent has no gender. Women make up half the population, a large number in the workforce, and should feel self-assured in applying for positions within any industry.

While females in Europe occupied less than a quarter of jobs in the automotive industry; in a decade, Mary Barra became the CEO of General Motors, one of the largest car conglomerates in the world, and thereby the first woman to run a major car company.

Hopefully, her breakthrough will translate into a larger share of women in the automotive workforce, and a growing interest to recruit and advance female professionals.

Our approach

CarZar lives by their brand promises of being safe, transparent, convenient and competent. We aim to remove inequality by treating all customers in the same way, and do not require them - whether male or female - to have any knowledge about the car industry.

We are desperately wanting to employ more female personnel. Diversity is one of our core values. We really believe that a team with varying perspectives can produce much better results. We are always open and looking for female profiles.

In addition, we strive for a balance between people from the trade and people with diverse backgrounds to bring a fresh perspective to an industry that is ripe for innovation. Where we can’t find the diversity, we were looking for in the existing market, it's up to us to create it.

CarZar is currently training its operations administrator, Nicole Gangen, to become an expert inspector and evaluator – our first female inspector, and hopefully not the last. It's also important to us to take talented, motivated people and push them to their full potential. Like many people in our team, Nicole has an amazing attitude to learning and growing, and we want to reward her by creating the opportunity for her to progress.