Research

Women in the Automotive Industry: Quick Take

Aug 21, 2018

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

Over half (56%) of C-suite leaders in the global automotive industry point to women as a critical pool of underutilized talent.4

CANADA

In 2016, women accounted for:5

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

EUROPE

Women Are Underrepresented in Automotive Manufacturing Across Most Countries in Europe6
Percentage of Women (Aged 15 Years and Older) Employed in the Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers, and Semi-Trailers7
European Union 24.2%
Germany 17.6%
France 17.9%
Italy 19.4%
Sweden 24.4%
United Kingdom 15.8%

 

Percentage of Women (Aged 15 Years and Older) Employed in Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles8
European Union 15.6%
Germany 20.1%
France 16.5%
Italy 14.7%
Sweden 14.4%
United Kingdom 17.6%

UNITED STATES

Although Women Are Almost Half of the US Labor Force, They Represent Only About One-Quarter of the Automotive Workforce9

Women held 26.7% of jobs in the motor vehicles and motor vehicles equipment manufacturing industry in 2017.10

  • In the same year, women of color made up a fraction of employees in the motor vehicles and motor vehicles equipment manufacturing industry:11
    • Black women: 6.4%.
    • Asian women: 1.8%.
    • Latinas: 2.7%.

Specific occupations in the automotive industry are male-dominated. In 2017, women represented:12

  • 21.8% of automobile dealers.
  • 9.6% of automotive repair and maintenance employees.
Women Are Underrepresented Throughout the Automotive Manufacturing Pipeline13

The industry has difficulty attracting women into entry-level positions14

  • In the automotive and industrial manufacturing industry, women’s representation at the entry level starts out small (26%), and is even smaller in higher-level positions: manager (20%), senior manager/director (20%), VP (18%), SVP (16%), and C-Suite (13%).15
  • 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.16

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

Women Report High Levels of Bias and Sexual Harassment18

In the automotive industry, women report higher rates of sexism and sexual harassment compared with the tech and advertising industries, including:19

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

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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

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

Deloitte, Women at the Wheel: Recruiting, Retaining, and Advancing Women in the Global Automotive Industry (2016).

Caitlin Kelly, “A Woman’s Touch, Still a Rarity in Car Design,” The New York Times, October 29, 2013.

Wheels for Women, “Cars Designed by Women” (December 12, 2013).

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Automotive Industry (August 21, 2018).

  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. EY, “Placing Gender on the Automotive Agenda.”
  5. 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).
  6. European Commission, European Sector Skills Council, Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills – European Sector Skills Councils: Automotive (2016): p. 36, 46.
  7. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2018).
  8. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2018).
  9. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2018); Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2017,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2018).
  10. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2017,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2018).
  11. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 2: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, Annual Average 2017,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2018).
  12. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity, 2017,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2018).
  13. Alexis Krivkovich, Eric Kutcher, and Lareina Yee, “Breaking Down the Gender Challenge,” McKinsey Quarterly (March 2016).
  14. Alexis Krivkovich, Eric Kutcher, and Lareina Yee, “Breaking Down the Gender Challenge,” McKinsey Quarterly (March 2016).
  15. Rachel Thomas, Marianne Cooper, Ellen Konar, Megan Rooney, Ashley Finch, Lareina Yee, Alexis Krivkovich, Irina Starikova, Kelsey Robinson, and Rachel Valentino, Women in the Workplace 2017 (McKinsey & Company and Lean In, 2017): p. 6.
  16. Deloitte, The Manufacturing Institute, and APICS, Women in Manufacturing: Stepping Up to Make an Impact That Matters (2017): p. 17.
  17. Jeff Bennett and Sara Murray, “General Motors Names Mary Barra as CEO,” The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2013.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.