I believe the UK motor industry is long overdue a female friendly makeover in the minds of important women customers.
Reason Number One for this is because women are the Chief Purchasing Officers in most families and too many feel ill-at-ease in garages, dealerships or at industry exhibitions.
Reason Number Two is because 80% of the motor industry workforce is male.
Having said that, this is not a feminist rant and of course there are men who are female friendly when it comes to looking after women customers in the motor trade. It’s simply the case that many men who have grown up in a male dominated business culture (where women are often the butt of the motoring joke, where sexy posters are found on workshop walls, where sexy front cover magazines are displayed on service station shelves, where scantily clad females are the norm at some car exhibitions/events as in the photo… and so on) are unlikely to treat some women customers with the respect they deserve.
One way to make a big difference here is to reposition the UK motor industry as a female friendly one in the minds of women by using creative, honest and people-oriented Marketing Communications.
Another is to actively recruit more females at all levels within the industry. Bring in female role models at the top as Non Executive Directors and actively promote women upwards from within, wherever this makes sense. But the women will need encouragement and it’s a shame that the Women and Work Level 4 training grant funding is unlikely to be continued in today’s troubled economy…
But how to reach females when you don’t want to be accused of discrimination in a recruitment ad? Which is ironic when you think that many women perceive the motor industry to discriminate against them 
in terms of patronising behaviour or by selling them services they don’t need…
A definite recruitment barrier is that many women read the words ‘motor industry’ or ‘garage’ and instantly dismiss the job as one for men. Another barrier is that men usually write the job specifications and are likely to base this on their experience of the role and in their own liking. Which means that despite one’s best intentions the reality can be that current recruitment practices very often produce a self perpetuating status quo!
Yes I believe that an industry makeover is long overdue here and I believe this should be started soon, handled sensitively and with a view to be totally fair to both genders. I am always amazed at how many senior individuals in the industry tell me that they treat both genders as equal without seeming to recognise that women customers have different needs and expectations from men and are the more demanding shoppers whatever they are buying.
Which is why men would do well to look out for businesses that display FOXY’s Female Friendly Code in recognition of a commitment to superior standards of customer services. If women are happy (having tried and tested service quality, value, welcome and cleanliness) you can bet your bottom dollar that most men will be absolutely delighted by the difference.
FOXY Steph
PS: Find out more about FOXY Choice’s Female Business Ambassador network, designed to recognise businesses that are run by or employ women in customer facing roles.
“Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists” Edward de Bono
