Yet even though women make up about 20 per cent of Australia’s automotive industry, the role of advocate organisation Women in Automotive (WinA) has yet to reach full potential and, despite the group’s 20-year history, still has about the same number of members – 1230.

And just as WinA was on the cusp of gearing up to attract a significant number of new recruits and a renewed swell of support to grow their numbers, COVID arrived.

The pandemic hit just as Women in Automotive (WinA) – part of the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce – produced a year-long schedule of events, programs, seminars and publicity drives that would directly benefit the industry and its new players.

Though the pandemic clipped the program and brought much of it inside to a computer screen, WinA manager Dr Imogen Reid believes much has been learnt during the 20 years the group has operated – particularly the past four years when new sponsors such as Toyota and St George Bank publicly put their weight behind WinA’s initiatives to prepare future female automotive leaders.

Now, Dr Reid told GoAutoNews Premium, the groundswell they noticed pre-COVID is coming back.

For August, WinA is attracting women to the group with a membership drive that includes spa vouchers and spot prizes for new recruits and for members who recruit others.

“We are based in Victoria but we have members throughout Australia, and in the US, Middle East and other countries,” she said.

“It is diverse because we’re the only ‘women in automotive’ initiative of its kind that is so inclusive.

“WinA is well structured and resourced and much of that is owed to being supported by the VACC. The VACC deserves acknowledgement of its commitment to the growth and development of WinA. It sees the value of investing in this space.

Imogen Reid

“All this has made a big difference. We’re getting more attention and the government knows who we are. We will continue to raise the profile of and encourage and support women to join the automotive industry. So it’s nothing but positive.”

The group is completing its Automotive August campaign as a membership drive aimed at doubling its members, and has further events planned.

What was planned for 2020 is to return, including a seminar that was held just prior to COVID on International Women’s Day.

“We had a sold-out event three weeks in advance, the most amazing lineup of speakers, and we were fortunate to hold the event,” Dr Reid said.

“It was a breakfast event, 7am start and it was pouring with rain, but everyone showed up. That showed us that we were onto something.

“But just after that, COVID hit and everything fell off a cliff.”

However WinA persisted. Dr Reid came on board in 2016 with a resume including running international women’s economic empowerment projects with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra.

“Since then, we have managed to get additional resources dedicated to it, we’ve built our membership, and we’ve been able to enlist sponsorship for scholarships for women moving through the leadership pipeline in the automotive sector,” she said.

Working with Women in Leadership Australia, WinA helped develop an automotive specific leadership program for women at mid-tier and the advanced stages of their career. 

“We rolled that out last year and it was supported by Toyota, St George and VACC who financially contributed to enable women to complete the training at no cost.

L-R Nadine Armstrong, Kate Peck, Molly Taylor, Felicity O’Rourke, Imogen Reid

“It was incredibly successful and previously unheard of because it was a group of women working in the same industry across different fields, from dealerships through to heavy vehicles.

“We hope to be able to replicate this, probably next year. We were fortunate with Women in Leadership who have been very good to work with and have been strong allies of WinA for many years.”

“We’ve also published guides and resources directed at businesses on how to attract, recruit and retain women. 

“That is a really practical ‘hands on guide’ that would address business who could say: ‘Oh, well, we’d love to employ women but they don’t apply, or they don’t stay, they can get pregnant, and they can’t lift anything’.

“It debunks those myths around why women can’t be employed or are often overlooked. It helps businesses be more strategic in how they approach their recruitment of women in a more targeted and disciplined manner. That campaign was very successful.”

WinA also runs events that provide an opportunity for people to come together and allow for a forum to educate women on a range of issues including superannuation, marketing and developing a business.

“Events allow women to be inspired by other women who have done it before. The energy at these events is always electric,” Dr Reid said. 

Molly Taylor, Jessica Dane and Kate Peck

“More recently, we’ve taken a bit of a turn towards tackling the apprenticeship issue. Australia’s automotive sector has massive skill shortages across all the disciplines and when you look at the female participation rates, it’s almost non-existent. 

“The Victorian government is looking at this too. We plan to develop a project that will attract more women into automotive trades.”

Dr Reid said though much attention is in the trades offered by the automotive industry, there are many career avenues available.

She said many schoolgirls were noticing more successful women at the top of automotive, including former Ford Australia CEO and president Kay Hart, who has since been promoted to Detroit as global product manager.

“There are other prominent Australian women working in Detroit such as Sharon Gauci, executive director of global industrial design at General Motors.

“This has been something we have been trying to combat – you don’t just have to be on the tools to work in automotive. 

“It’s such a broad industry. If you are an interior designer, graphic designer, work in HR, finance or marketing, or whatever it is, there are many opportunities in automotive.

“There’s so many ways people can contribute their talents. You don’t have to be an engineer or put on a tool belt.”

By Neil Dowling