Protyre News

On International Women's Day 2019 I'm putting the spotlight on women working in the international automotive industry as well as the UK's.

Recognising that nearly 50% of UK motorists are female and that women drivers influence some 80% of car sales and 65% of garage sales, you'd expect staffing in the automotive industry to reflect both genders. But with fewer than 20% of retail automotive jobs being held by women, the gender balance isn't quite right yet.
 
My birds eye perspective of the automotive industry in 2019 follows.

Women in Automotive – the International picture

On a global automotive scale, the progression of women is slow. In 2018, for example, only 16 women (8%) were executives in the top 20 motor vehicles and parts companies in the US Fortune Global 500, up from 14 women in 2015.
 
See here for more information about women working in the automotive industry
 
Deloitte's research 'Women At The Wheel (2018)' confirms the latest statistics and explains some of the reasons behind them, as follows:

• 65% of females are avoiding automotive careers because they see the industry to be an unattractive environment for women.

• Only 53 percent of well-educated senior women working in the automotive sector would choose the industry again, if given the chance to start career planning again. This is down from 71 percent in 2015.

• The percentage of women aspiring to senior executive automotive positions has dropped by ten percent (82% to 72%) since 2015.

• One quarter of Deloitte's female survey respondents believe the industry’s attitude toward women has stagnated or, even deteriorated over the last five years.

You can download Deloitte's Women At The Wheel 2018 survey findings here

Women in Automotive – the UK Industry

The percentage of female employees in the UK's retail automotive industry is 17.6% for those servicing and repairing cars and motorcycles. This compares with an average of 15.6% across the EU.
 
Anecdotal evidence confirms that more women are moving into senior executive roles across the industry although there are few instances where they hold more than 20% at these levels.
 
At the opposite end of the scale, the number of female apprentices is rising within the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall, Lookers and Michelin where previous apprentices have enjoyed considerable career progression.

Michelin Apprentices 

In general, women in the automotive industry are well represented in administrative, marketing, finance and HR functions but are less likely to be seen than men in car showrooms, repair workshops and tyre fitting bays as well as in management or Boardroom positions.
 
More women are becoming MOT Testers which is an excellent career where they can combine important (and pre-booked) work alongside family and school commitments. Having said this, it's rare for male MOT Testers to see this role in the same light!
 

Protyre's female apprentice drive 2019

Protyre is proactively seeking to take on more female apprentices in 2019 as part of this female-friendly recruitment drive, Protyre Plymouth will host on Friday 8 March - International Women’s Day - a workshop and recruitment event for aspiring young female mechanics. who will attend through their involvement with the Plymouth training charity, Norporo Training.
 
The 16-18 year olds attending will take a tour of the Plymouth centre, spend time in the workshop taking part in a vehicle check and have the opportunity to fit a tyre and balance the wheels on a car.
 
There will be also a chat and Q & A with Protyre Faringdon garage manager Nikki Ham about her rise through the Protyre ranks, along with the opportunity to see two new inspiring videos from existing Protyre apprentices Chloe and Elise about their own experiences within the industry.
 
Protyre’s recruitment drive for more female apprentices into the business, comes weeks after the tyre retailer recorded a positive performance in the BBC’s gender pay gap report, in which Protyre featured among the 14% of UK companies to have a pay gap that favours women.
 
Simon Hiorns, Protyre Retail Director, said: “We are very proud to be taking on our 100th apprentice this year and even better that 2019 is the year in which we have our biggest intake of apprentices into the business.
 
“Those coming through our apprenticeship scheme are the future of the business and there are great opportunities at Protyre, such as our Protech Academy, to carve out a successful career beyond the apprenticeship scheme.
 
“By hosting our workshop event, those young women attending will get the chance to gain a valuable insight into the skills they can develop and will hopefully take inspiration from Nikki, Chloe and Elise in what can be achieved by women currently working at Protyre centres.”
 
As a follow-on to Friday’s workshop Protyre will also take part in a school’s outreach programme later in the year.
 
This will involve visits to schools to outline the opportunities that exist within the industry, with a particular emphasis on encouraging more girls to apply for the Protyre apprenticeship scheme each year.

Click the button below to find out more about the Women of Protyre:

My experience is that female friendly approved garages and car dealers also make the best female friendly employers but only Enterprise Rent A Car has made it into The Times Top 50 Employers for Women (2018) as an automotive employer.
 
Of course, there are automotive businesses that buck the typical gender profile, such as the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) which is headed by a woman and where 70% of their administrative roles are filled by women. This is very rare.
 
Read GMD Peoples 'Closing the gender gap in automotive industry' review here
 
Finally, the UK Automotive 30% Club includes car manufacturers and leading dealership groups committed to a target of having women in 30% of their key leadership positions by 2030. Just to mark the international scene in 2019 there are three female CEOs; Mary Barra, Linda Jackson and Katrin Adt at General Motors, Citroen and Smart respectively.
 
Hopefully they'll get to 30% sooner than 2030 en route to 50% - once the gender movement picks up pace.
 
Award ceremonies are a great way of illustrating female talent in the pipeline, such as the annual Autocar Great British Women in the Car Industry Awards

UK Automotive Club Annual Conference

There are many examples of best practice to celebrate in the UK Automotive industry 2019, with women in mind. Whilst the UK faces the same gender challenges as the EU and US I am confident that more employers than ever recognise that a status quo masculine culture means that they are missing out on the female talent they need. Fortunately, I can report that the female talent pipeline inside and outside the automotive industry is healthy and ready for their career challenges ahead.
 
No employer needs to favour females but they do need to ensure a level playing field so the best women can compete for the best jobs. By this I mean employers need to reach out, engage, motivate and reward men and women in the same transparent way. All that is needed is a strategic commitment to be more flexible and female friendly within the automotive business. To attract and retain female staff the employer must be visibly female friendly and able to demonstrate happy in-house female role models.
 
Progress is undoubtedly being made in the UK automotive industry. I look forward to this speeding up in time for my next review on subsequent International Women's Days.