Navigating the Automotive Industry as a Woman: Overcoming Stereotypes and Making My Voice Loud

My name might give it away - but this industry is one I truly love. If I didn't see such hope and potential in it in the long-run, I wouldn't be here. It's given me some wonderful opportunities and I've honed my voice to become one that's well-known and trusted.

But, my journey has been pretty tough and not entirely smooth - that's a bit of an understatement. In hindsight, I realise it's because I'm on a path to something greater, which is why I've met a lot of friction along the way. And, thank goodness I kept trying and didn't let it get me down. I probably wouldn't have the confidence, strive and passion if I did.

Despite the automotive industry being thrilling, exciting and a place of impeccable technology, there's often another characteristic people associate it with: its male population. Now, I've worked with exceptional colleagues of all genders, but I've also come across misogynistic views from them too. I've experienced unconscious bias for being a woman of a certain age, and because I've threatened others by my confidence.

Historically, we've known certain industries to have a larger male population than female one. And, as diversity, equity and inclusion measures come into play, we still see a larger male population within the industry. For some reason, cars have always been seen as "powerful", "athletic" or "aggressive", which are typically descriptors used to describe men. We all know this language can be harmful to everyone, not just women.

But, what if we changed that narrative, what if we reframed the language we use to describe cars and remove the stereotyping of men? At the same time, we can alter the industry to be more accepting of underrepresented groups, like women, the LGBTQIA+ community, different cultural backgrounds and more.

So, how can we understand it better and challenge it with more strength?

Navigating internalised misogyny in the automotive space

Internalised misogyny is when someone who presents as female has sexist views about their own gender. This can appear in ways like assuming a female colleague won't want career progression as they will "probably" have children shortly, or that women tend to act and think the same. For example, statements like "it's probably her time of the month" help no-one, especially when it's not the case. Essentially, wrapping women up in any outward emotion being menstruation-related.

With fewer women in the space, it's often the case that you could be treated as different, especially if you aim to compete with louder male voices. It's not always true, but sometimes you can be seen as an "other". It creates an inordinate amount of pressure on the person too.

As a 23-year old, I struggled to find my voice as I felt a lot of pressure to be different, to stand out and to offer something no-one else could. Let's be honest, at that age, your working experiences are still pretty immature. I also reflected on the fact my expectations on myself were so high, there was no way they'd be met. So, the natural way to make yourself stand out is to appear as different to others. When I battled this internal misogyny, it looked a lot like:

• Comparing myself to other women in the space and commenting on their flaws

• Making comments to myself, like the one above, excusing a woman's emotions as her menstrual cycle

• Claiming I would work harder than any working mum ever could because I didn't have children

Firstly, if you felt uncomfortable reading those, I do apologise. However, it highlights just how ingrained the misogyny was for me as a young woman. I wanted to see myself as different and, as some have written before, as unwoman. I was almost ashamed of being female and felt a huge pressure to remove the burden of it.

Although we have the Equality Act in the UK, we still have a level of unconscious bias and sexism that plagues the way we behave. And, it's not just the automotive sector we see this in. It's everywhere, including teaching. So, whilst it's easy to look back and reflect on my own internalised misogyny and critique it, I was also surrounded by many other people who saw things in the same way as me and who made the same comments I did. That's a pattern that needs breaking.

Understanding misogyny in the automotive space

The way of the world would tell you it's men who make the purchase decisions when it comes to car, men who deal with the car-related problems and men who step foot in the showroom. But, all these statements are flawed and down-right wrong, especially in the UK.

In one report, it was determined that 89% of women are either jointly or solely responsible for their car purchase. Where we consider a joint person, we might believe this is because women want:

• to expand their family and purchase a larger car

• to become a single car household for cost-saving

  
  

However, we also forget that it could be a joint purchase as:

• an investment, particularly for cars that increase in value over time

• a portfolio expansion - let's not forget that women can enjoy cars too

• their first car, with some financial support from their parents or partner

• purchasing a first car for a child or dependant

And that list is not exhaustive. However, it's easy for us to categorise a woman's purchase intentions based on what society says she should be doing and not what she's actually doing. I was once part of a discussion where people claimed an EV charger was purchased by women because they like to decorate their house. I know, this is certainly not the case and very much relates back to society's expectations of women. Now, it might have been true in some circumstances, but the plausible answer of "they need to charge their car" was not at the top of perceived reasons why.

Similarly, we must also remember that many modern appliances, technology and gadgets weren't made based on the preferences of women, rather the ease it provides and the convenience it offers. I already hear you saying "surely, this is a good thing?" And it us, don't get me wrong. But it's not entirely true that these ease and convenience options actually suit women, more the societal expectations of what women do. Hear me out.

In one report, women were documented as making over 80% of the purchase decisions for their household, but they're the group most likely to be affected by the cost of living epidemic. Society still expects women to run a household, be the responsible party for household outgoings and the main contributors to discretionary spending, but still earn less than their male counterparts and make more purchase decisions that benefit their family or their appearance. The imbalance is there and the problem is, the data behind the products targeted at women are skewed by biased data analysis. Marketing of certain household items or appropriate gadgets still follows a "pink for girls, blue for boys" logic, and it's becoming quite outdated, quite fast.

Circle back to purchasing cars, this logic is still incredibly prevalent. In several studies conducted in 2024, it was determined that the main driver of electric vehicles are men aged between 45-60. We naturally assume this is because men have more disposable income or they have access to a Porsche or BMW as part of a salary sacrifice scheme. To many people's astonished, the next highest driver group of EVs is women aged 18-35. Now, I've heard multiple explanations and assumptions of this, such as:

• They want to drive something more sustainable

• They have access to a parent or partner's car

• They care about showing a more eco-friendly image and example to the world

Some of these may be absolutely viable assumptions, but what if we're missing some crucial elements here too. What if these women are also driving EVs because:

• They have more disposable income than we believe they do

• They get an EV as part of a salary sacrifice scheme

• They chose an EV because it often becomes a cheaper alternative overtime to petrol and diesel counterparts

Similarly, the men aged 45-60 could also be driving an EV for any number of reasons, including those listed above. It may also not be their car, they are just a regular driver of their spouse's car or they complete the payments on behalf of their spouse.

We're very much past the days where women sit passenger and make decisions because the product will match the style of their home.

Tackling misogyny in the automotive industry

One of the first steps to tackling misogyny is to challenge it. In most instances, it's subconscious and people don't know they are doing it. If they don't believe you when you challenge it, search for the data that could back up your claim.

There are some brilliant organisations working to tackle misogynistic views in the industry. But there's one real indicator for brands that a misogynistic mindset won't work: loss of revenue.

In the same way that accessibility needs education and awareness, it's the same situation for misogyny. Most people don't mean it, it's just an afterthought. And it's fair to say that it is hard to appeal to everyone in one product. However, adding a level of inclusion into the product design could unlock additional revenue.

Take headrests with grooves that allow people with long hair to comfortably drive with a pony tail - this doesn't just affect women but people who rock the long hair trend.

Consider more adjustable seating configurations for the driver. It's common knowledge that women typically sit further forward to allow them to see over the steering wheel, so what if you adjust the height or steering column more dynamically than you can now. Once again, it doesn't just benefit women, but people with spinal conditions and those who are shorter than average height.

I'll leave you with one more example. Many cars are built with audio alerts to inform the driver of changes to speed or a need to brake. These alerts are great, but they don't support everyone, particularly those who are deaf and hard of hearing. But, even for people with noisy passengers, the alerts can still be difficult to hear. So, why not also introduce vibrations as well, helping all drivers remain alert to the change? It could easily be configured on and off to ensure it doesn't serve as a continually distraction, but does enable drivers to keep everyone safe.

Although it feels as though we have veered off the discussion of misogyny, this level of thinking ensures inclusion is never an afterthought. It's possible that these integrations and changes could encourage more people to purchase cars as they really target the ease and convenience people need, not just what we expect drivers to need.

Final thoughts for tackling misogyny

I should say that there are some many forms and angles misogyny takes. It's not just in the buyer purchases, but it's also in the way we treat our female colleagues and the way we label them. There's also a lot of work to be done around the language we opt for and the assumptions we carry. After all, women's expectations in this space have come such a long way, we're no longer the passenger princesses society once expected us to be.