Auto Initiative Targets Gender Inequality with Solera & Cap HPI

• Solera and Cap HPI back Empowering Auto UK
• Women hold only 20% of automotive jobs
• Initiative targets hiring, retention, and leadership gaps

A new automotive diversity initiative, Empowering Auto UK, is launching in London with backing from Solera and Cap HPI to address gender inequality in the industry. Originating in Canada, the movement seeks to improve recruitment, retention, and leadership opportunities for women in the automotive workforce.

Although there have been industry initiatives, women make up approximately 20% of the automotive workforce, and fewer female staff members are at senior and board level in the industry.

Empowering Auto UK officially opens tomorrow (12 May) in London, and Solera Cap HPI is a founding member.

The backing of the initiative highlights both the magnitude of the challenge and the need for a more united response from the sector, Stacey Ward, senior director of data products and operations at Solera Cap HPI said: “The decision to back the initiative shows both the scale of the challenge and the call for a more coordinated response across the sector. We are supporting Empowering Auto UK to tackle the main issues, underrepresentation, weak retention, slow progression into leadership, workplace culture and inconsistent senior commitment across the sector.”

Ward said there has been a push towards tackling this in the UK as a whole automotive industry, but data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) indicates that there remains still a significant disparity between men and women, with women comprising around 20% of the workforce and even fewer at board and senior levels.

While diversity has been on the agenda for some time, progress has been slow. The direction of travel and the distance left to travel are demonstrated by industry targets: 30% by the end of the decade.

Empowering Auto UK is working to change career trajectories and make leadership more attainable. The programme is also planned to tackle mid-career attrition, which is frequently related to the pressure of family commitments, and culture-based challenges that persist to discourage long-term involvement alongside recruitment.

Commercial benefit is also apparent as expanding the talent pool will help alleviate the skills shortages that are evident in a number of different areas of the automotive industry. A more balanced workforce is broadly associated with better performance, innovation and better service to a diverse customer base.

Solera Cap HPI will be a founding member and will have a role to help shape the UK chapter. The partnership highlights the industry's drive to tackle diversity issues in the automotive industry.

The global auto tech firm already has internal and industry projects on this front.

Solera Wind, or Women in Dealerships, is dedicated to developing a community for women in automotive dealerships to connect, share experiences and gain confidence in their roles as well as to advance their pathway to automotive dealership leadership. This is part of a wider campaign to enhance inclusion and progression throughout the industry, alongside other initiatives such as Women in Solera and Women in Insurance.