Many industries still have a long way to go in achieving gender equality and inclusiveness in their workforce. A survey conducted by Automotive News and Deloitte shines a light on this important challenge in the global automotive industry with their finding that women continue to be an underutilized resource throughout the industry. While women make up about half of the labor force according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are only 25% of the automotive manufacturing workforce.
Titled the “Women at the Wheel” the report found that men and women have different views on how diversity, equality, and inclusion have improved in the automotive industry within the last five years. Nearly two-thirds of men feel positive changes have been made over this period, while only 39% of women do. In addition, 91% of all women surveyed hold the belief that there is an industry bias towards men for leadership positions, yet only half of men agree.
An increasing number of women feel that progress has been stagnant or reversed. This pessimistic view is reflected in 15% of the women surveyed in 2015 that is now 35% in 2020. This lack of progress is further constraining the entire industry’s ability to improve diversity because women are gravitating to other business sectors. They are going to where they feel there are better opportunities and that in the long term may lead to greater women leadership roles.
According to 64% of the 700 professionals surveyed across a range of automotive sectors, it’s the lack of equality, inclusion, and diversity that is the number one issue preventing people from considering a career within the automotive sector. Another key finding was that 88% of women feel diverse leadership leads to better decision making, but only 55% of men view the same—while 26% see no business benefit associated with having a diverse leadership team.
“This is a unique time in the automotive industry as companies realign businesses for the future in the face of major disruptive forces, while at the same time, coping with near-term economic headwinds,” said Deloitte Consulting LLP managing director, Jody Stidham. “The challenge for most auto companies lies in translating a nod of the head to the value of diversity, equity and inclusion into impactful actions.”
Read about the National Diversity Council’s efforts
