Research

Women in the Automotive Industry: Quick Take

Jan 29, 2020

GLOBAL

The Automotive Industry Is Showing Little Progress in Gender Diversity Among Executive Teams1

In 2018, only 16 women (8%) were executives in the top 20 motor vehicles and parts companies in the Fortune Global 500. This is a small change from 14 women (7%) in 2014.2

  • Over half of the top 20 companies in this industry have zero women on their executive teams.3

ASIA-PACIFIC

Women’s representation in automotive-related industries in Australia in 2019:

  • Motor vehicle and motor vehicle part manufacturing.4
    • Total: 16.1%.
    • All managers: 13.8%.
  • Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts wholesaling.5
    • Total: 22.0%.
    • All managers: 14.6%.

In Japan, women account for 20.0% of all employees in the automobile maintenance services industry.6

CANADA

In 2016, women accounted for:7

  • Motor vehicle manufacturing: 19.9%.
  • Automotive repair and maintenance: 13.7%.

EUROPE

Women Are Underrepresented in Automotive Manufacturing Across Most Countries in Europe8
Percentage of Women (Aged 15 Years and Older) Employed in the Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers, and Semi-Trailers (2018)9
European Union (EU-28) 24.7%
France 16.0%
Germany 18.4%
Netherlands 12.1%
Sweden 23.4%
United Kingdom 13.7%

 

Percentage of Women (Aged 15 Years and Older) Employed in Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles (2018)10
European Union (EU-28) 15.5%
France 17.3%
Germany 19.1%
Netherlands 14.5%
Sweden 15.0%
United Kingdom 16.8%

UNITED STATES

Although Women Are Almost Half of the US Labor Force, They Represent Fewer Than One-Quarter of the Automotive Workforce11

Women held 23.6% of jobs in the motor vehicles and motor vehicles equipment manufacturing industry in 2019.12

  • In the same year, women of color made up a fraction of employees in the motor vehicles and motor vehicles equipment manufacturing industry:13
    • Black women: 5.6%.
    • Asian women: 1.8%.
    • Latinas: 3.0%.

Specific occupations in the automotive industry are male-dominated. In 2019, women represented:14

  • 17.9% of automobile dealers.
  • 9.9% of automotive repair and maintenance employees.
Despite Progress, Few Women Reach Executive Ranks15

In the motor vehicle and parts dealers industry, women made up the majority (74.8%) of office and clerical workers in 2018 but were underrepresented among higher level positions like first/mid-level officials and managers (18.1%) and executive/senior-level officials and managers (17.6%).16

In 2014, Mary Barra became CEO of General Motors in the United States and the first woman to run a major automaker.17

The Automotive Industry Has Difficulty Attracting Women18

In a survey of women in various industries, respondents reported that the automotive industry was one of the least successful at attracting and retaining women.19

  • Women cited multiple reasons for avoiding a career in the industry, including an unattractive environment for women (65%), a lack of work-life balance (59%), and a lack of flexible schedules (46%).20
Women Report High Levels of Bias and Sexual Harassment21

In the automotive industry in 2017, women reported higher rates of sexism and sexual harassment compared with the tech and advertising industries, including:22

  • Being tasked with lower-level assignments compared to their male peers (65%).
  • Unwanted sexual advances (65%).
  • Feeling unsafe at work (25%).

A follow-up study in 2018 found that only 25% of women felt that issues of sexism in the industry had improved in the last year and 11% stated that these issues had actually gotten worse.23

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Automotive Industries Association of Canada, Advancing Women in Automotive Knowledge Exchange (AWAKE) Needs Assessment Report (2016).

Carla Bailo and Terry Barclay, The Road to the Top Is Not on the Map: Conversations with Top Women of the Automotive Industry (SAE International, 2019).

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations.

Robert C. Yeager, “Women Get Feet in the Door of the Car Design Boys’ Club,” The New York Times, October 18, 2018.

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Automotive Industry (January 29, 2020).

  1. 20-first, 20-first’s 2018 Global Gender Balance Scorecard: Automotive Top 20: Men Still Hogging the Wheel (April 2018).
  2. 20-first, 20-first’s 2018 Global Gender Balance Scorecard: Automotive Top 20: Men Still Hogging the Wheel (April 2018).
  3. 20-first, 20-first’s 2018 Global Gender Balance Scorecard: Automotive Top 20: Men Still Hogging the Wheel (April 2018).
  4. Australian Government, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, “Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Part Manufacturing within Transport Equipment Manufacturing Subdivision, Workforce Composition,” WGEA Data Explorer (2019).
  5. Australian Government, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, “Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts Wholesaling within Wholesale Trade Division, Workforce Composition,” WGEA Data Explorer (2019).
  6. Statistics of Japan, “Employed Person by Industry and Status in Employment (Since 2011) – With the 12th and 13th Revision of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification,” Labor Force Survey, Basic Tabulation, Whole Japan, Yearly (2019).
  7. Statistics Canada, “Industry – North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2012(427A), Class of Worker (5A), Labour Force Status (3), Age (13A) and Sex (3) for the Labour Force Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2018).
  8. European Association of Automotive Suppliers, European Trade Union, and European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturer’s Association, European Sector Skills Council: Automotive Industry (2016): p. 36.
  9. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2019).
  10. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2019).
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  12. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  13. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 2: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Annual Average 2019,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2020).
  14. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  15. Nathan Bomey, “The Auto Industry Is Still a Boys’ Club at the Top Despite GM CEO Mary Barra’s Success,” USA Today, November 11, 2019.
  16. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “2018 EEO-1 National Aggregate Report by NAICS-3 Code, Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers (441),” 2018 Job Patterns For Minorities and Women in Private Industry (EEO-1) (2020).
  17. Jeff Bennett and Sara Murray, “General Motors Names Mary Barra as CEO,” The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2013.
  18. Michelle Lytle, Ryan Robinson, and Robyn Wagner Skarbek, “Shifting Diversity Into High Gear: Helping to Close the Auto Industry’s Talent Gap,” Deloitte Insights (May 30, 2019).
  19. Deloitte and Automotive News, Women at the Wheel: Recruitment, Retention, and the Advancement of Women in the Automotive Industry (October 2018): p. 5.
  20. Deloitte and Automotive News, Women at the Wheel: Recruitment, Retention, and the Advancement of Women in the Automotive Industry (October 2018): p. 6.
  21. Sharon Silke Carty, Amy Wilson, Hannah Lutz, Shiraz Ahmed, Jamie LaReau, Katie Burke, Michael Martinez, and Jackie Charniga, “Sexism Alive and Well in Auto Industry,” Automotive News, October 22, 2017.
  22. Sharon Silke Carty, Amy Wilson, Hannah Lutz, Shiraz Ahmed, Jamie LaReau, Katie Burke, Michael Martinez, and Jackie Charniga, “Sexism Alive and Well in Auto Industry,” Automotive News, October 22, 2017.
  23. Sharon Silke Carty, “Project XX One Year Later: Change Is a Slow Climb,” Automotive News, December 17, 2018.