Underrepresentation of Women in the Auto Industry

In 2015, Deloitte conducted a study and found that only 27% of car manufacturing employees in the United States are women. On the management front, only 16.9% of women hold senior positions. If that doesn’t sound bad enough, here’s where things get more out-of-tune: Women buy 52% of all new cars in the U.S. and influence more than 85% of sales, according to Forbes. This disconnect invites a lot of questions and concerns. Why aren’t there more women taking shotgun in the auto industry? Why are females still underrepresented in this auto engineering and other STEM disciplines? We spoke to five women–three engineers, one mechanic, and a marketing superstar–who share their reasons.

“That’s simple,” replies Elizabeth Krear, the chief engineer of the Ram 1500 Truck for FCA Group. “There are not enough women studying engineering.”

According to the National Science Foundation, women make up less than 20% of undergraduates enrolled in engineering. For Nichole Broner, who was the only female to graduate last year from Andrews University with an engineering degree, this fact sounds all too familiar.

“Studying engineering is not for the faint of heart,” says 23-year-old Broner. “You need to have thick skin, especially if you’re a woman and of color because there are so many people who will try to discourage you and they’ll say, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t for you,’ but you have to motivate yourself and find opportunities for growth, so that you’ll have the right tools and resources to jumpstart your career.”

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