When I started reading Automotive News in the mid-70s, one thing that struck me was how few women were in leadership positions. Only one or two would be listed on two-page displays of industry “all stars.”
Gender balance appears to have gotten at least a little better over the years. However, even though women make 65 percent of new-car purchases, they hold only 17 percent of auto industry jobs (Finlay, 2016; Glinton, 2015). Thus, I wasn’t surprised by the results from two surveys that shed light on sexism in the auto industry.
Majority of women have experienced sexism
Almost 64 percent of women who work in the industry disagree with the following statement either somewhat or strongly: “The auto industry is no more sexist than any other industry.” That’s up 8 percent from a survey taken a year ago, according to a story by Sharon Silke Carty (2018) of Automotive News.
Responses to other survey questions point in a more positive direction. For example, the proportion of women who “have felt excluded from key social/networking opportunities because of my gender” dropped from almost 57 percent in 2017 to under 38 percent when the survey was again conducted this fall.
Also see ‘How 1960s car design reflected the good old (boy) days‘
Automotive News, which conducted the two surveys, posted the raw numbers of the first one. It’s worth spending some time reading (go here) because the numbers can be eye-popping:
- Almost 58 percent agreed somewhat or strongly that they have had their professional influence and credibility undermined by colleagues because of their gender.
- More than 65 percent said they have been subjected to unwanted sexual advances during the span of their career.
- More than 68 percent said they had received feedback that they were “too aggressive.”
Carty pointed to a number of signs of progress since the original survey was published. For example, the Automotive Hall of Fame (2018) now has nine women on its 40-person board of directors after a recent effort to increase its diversity. However, that is still only 23 percent of the board. None of the four officers are women.
Women car buyers are more practical than men
Sexism isn’t just inhumane — it can result in automakers failing to meet the needs of a changing market. If mostly men design automobiles, they will more likely fail to address the needs of women — which can be very different.
For example, women tend to be more pragmatic than men as car buyers (Glinton, 2015). They are less likely to get a larger truck and more likely to place an emphasis on economy, comfort and practical features such as the ability to charge devices in the second or third row of seats. This helps explain the increasing popularity of small sport-utility vehicles.
“The thing that guys would always talk about is that women need a space for their purses,” noted Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.com. “And then they would design this really tiny space between the passenger seat and the driver seat and it would always be way too small. And it was something that it’s like, oh, clearly a man designed that.” (Glinton, 2015)
Not only do women make most of the car-buying decisions, but they are also driving more. In 1963 women represented only 40 percent of American drivers. However, that proportion has grown to over 50 percent, according to University of Michigan researcher Michael Sivak (DeGroat, 2012).
How representative are the survey results?
The original Automotive News survey received almost 900 responses from women who work in the industry. That’s a meaningful number. The description of the methodology also leads me to assume that the results are not “externally valid” (Carty et al., 2017; Madansky, 2018).
In other words, the survey does not appear to be designed and administered in such a way that the results can be described as representative of all women in the auto industry (within a reasonable margin of error). Respondents who feel passionately about the topic may be “overrepresented” — which could skew the results.
I don’t venture into the dark and scary forest of research methods to debunk the results, but rather to suggest that transparency is good for everyone in the long run. The quantitative and qualitative findings of the two surveys have shown more than enough “smoke” to justify the need for further research, ideally with more elaborate methodologies. That will invariably cost more money, but it is well worth the investment.
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RE:SOURCES
- Automotive Hall of Fame; 2018. “Board of Directors.” Accessed December 29.
- Automotive News; 2017. “Project XX: The Career Path Game for Women.” (Subscription required). Posted October 23; accessed December 29, 2018.
- Carty, Sharon Silke and Amy Wilson, Hannah Lutz, Shiraz Ahmed, Jamie LaReau, Katie Burke, Michael Martinez and Jackie Charniga; 2017. “Sexism alive and well in auto industry.” Automotive News (subscription required). Posted October 22; accessed December 28, 2018.
- Carty, Sharon Silke; 2018. “Project XX one year later: Change is a slow climb.” Automotive News (subscription required). Posted December 17; accessed December 28.
- DeGroat; 2012. “Women drivers outnumber men, but still drive less.” University of Michigan. Posted December 13; accessed accessed December 28, 2018.
- Finley, Steve; 2016. “Women in Majority as Car Buyers, But Not as Dealership Employees.” Wards Auto. Posted September 20; accessed December 29.
- Madansky, Michele; 2018. “Introducing ‘Beyond the Elephant in the Valley.'” Elephant In The Valley. Posted September 30; accessed December 29.
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