Motor industry still male dominated
New research has revealed that half of women surveyed would not consider a career in the motor industry.
This comes after data found that female representation in the sector hovers at just 19% compared to 51% in non-automotive industries.
The research was carried out by Venson Automotive Solutions and found that a third said that it was never presented as an option to them by their family, school or college.
More optimistically, Venson’s research also revealed that 26% of women would or have considered a career in the motor industry while 24% remained uncertain. The most popular career choice for those considering the industry is to become a car designer (33%). This is followed by automotive application software engineer – responsible for the design and development of software systems for in-car technology (26%) – and vehicle technician, specialising in the computerised aspects of vehicle repair (24%).
Alison Bell, operations director for Venson, said: “The automotive sector faces its biggest skills challenge of the last two decades, yet half of the women we surveyed said they would not consider a career in the motor industry as they believe they don’t have the technical abilities needed. The Institute of the Motor Industry reports that filling traditional posts, including vehicle technicians, tyre, exhaust and windscreen fitters is still a significant challenge, it is easy to see the knock-on effect on the fleet industry unless initiatives are taken to address the gender imbalance.
“Despite women reporting a lack of encouragement at school level and beyond, it’s reassuring to see from our research that a quarter of women still aspire to a career in the automotive industry. We can only imagine the upward trajectory if more was done to promote a career with cars to girls, from early years.
“It is fantastic to see the Association of Fleet Professionals this month holding a course on public speaking for women in fleet, as this will help get more female voices heard. As a sector though, we all need to play our part in promoting our chosen motor industry career paths to help demonstrate that they are attainable to all and that anyone can work in what is one of the world’s most exciting industries.”
