Could the recent Sky Sports sackings bring about a more female friendly and less sexist motor industry?

Andy Gray and Richard Keys were sacked for loutish comments and behaviour in a clearly male dominated business. It’s not just what they said so much (because they weren’t on air), it’s the way they said it and perceptions matter massively. We now read they were part of a bullying and highly sexist culture and most of their colleagues, male and female, were delighted to see the back of them.

But can the motor industry learn from any of this? In a male dominated industry where c80% of staff are male it’s perhaps understandable that the female voice gets crowded out in the macho voice choir in our garages, workshops, dealerships and car showrooms.

Sadly this is a self-perpetuating cycle where the men in the majority  are unlikely to question why women in the minority don’t want to work with them 😉 and carry on as before… as if that makes it right.

And when you do the PC thing and ask the impressive and rare females who make it to the top of the motor industry, they’ll undoubtedly say they haven’t encountered sexism in their careers – which is probably because they’ve learned to turn a blind eye on occasion and are better at playing the game than most men. But less doughty females will wonder if it’s worth it and find more welcoming opportunities in other industries.

Which is a real shame but all to do with female perceptions that the industry isn’t addressing. The fact that women at the top are still the exception, that female customer perceptions are of an overly blokey industry that doesn’t understand them and that many men think that’s all OK…

Having worked in travel and leisure businesses for 20 years I didn’t find it OK at all and I felt distinctly ill at ease with the very different culture in the motor industry. It was like walking into a wall of disrespect, disinterest and incomprehension based on my gender and outlook. So much so I began to question my own ability…

And I am not alone in still feeling the odd one out if truth be told. But much like Gray and Keys colleagues it’s only when the bullies have gone that you’ll hear the real truth from the many excellent business owners and female friendly guys, gals, garage and dealership staff that want the industry to be cleaned up in the minds of future female customers…

So, in the hope that Andy Gray might be the female friendly tipping point the UK motor industry needs, here are my Top Ten Female Friendly recommendations so the industry can start to sell itself as professional and trustworthy to more females in future…

1.  Start at the top – encourage more female Non Executive Directors from outside the industry onto car manufacturer, Top 100 franchised dealership and garage/automotive group Boards.
2.  Get recruitment right from the bottom up – recruit more women into the industry (ditch the ‘industry experience needed’ approach; that means men…).
3.  Tell female customers if you employ female staff (because women trust women).
4.  Review all marketing communications (internal and external) to make sure they cater for women.
5.  Communicate with women where they are (which isn’t the FA Cup or TalkSport channels I’d suggest ;-)) and learn to understand their language…
6.  Base minimum car sales and garage service and repair standards on aspirational female needs and expectations (because women are more demanding shoppers than most men).
7.  Invest in female friendly approved training and accreditation for car sales and garage service staff.
8. Regularly check for spotless washrooms; this really matters to women and many are below par… and remember women may need facilities for children.
9. Outlaw Page 3 magazine covers in petrol forecourt shops; and scantily clad female hostesses at automotive exhibitions.
10.  Female employees shouldn’t put up with sexist comments. Say no to sexism wherever you find it and explain why this offends women. And be sure not to invite sexist comments by the way you dress for business.

Having ticked these measures off, the UK garage industry should now be seeing a more female friendly image in the mirror ;-). To measure and maintain this standard, it could now use an independent and specialist female friendly complaints handling service (FOXY Choice springs to mind) to handle all employee and customer complaints. We’d then feed all constructive criticism and advice back to the employer and into any female friendly complaints and/or approved accreditation process.

Eh voila. That would go a long way to present a more female friendly image in the motor industry to benefit all customers.

And to quote Michael Caine  ‘not a lot of people know that’…. this will also improve the bottom line because businesses that employ women are apparently more profitable than those that don’t. The reason for that seems fairly obvious to me – female friendly businesses that recognise our needs are the ones we prefer to spend our money with, hence the profit variation. And because women buy and influence c85% of all household shopping today we are looking to do business with the ones that get it right for us.

Those that get this right understand that being female friendly is a matter of common business sense not feminism in any way. Although I’m not sure that Andy Gray, Richard Keys and their motoring industry ilk will EVER see it like that!

FOXY

Find out more about schemes that measure female friendly garage standards at FOXY Choice and about female friendly approved training and accreditation plans for 2011.