If any industry wants to attract women to it, it should first start by taking a female friendly audit of itself and see how it is honestly perceived by other women.

Take the global IT industry for starters which has been trying to tempt more females into it for good reason. Why might this industry be shunned by women all over the world one wonders?

Perhaps this is a clue. Australia has just held a conference in Sydney intended to encourage more women to consider an IT career. Very honourable intentions and you would expect women to be interested.

Until someone male at Microsoft decided to employ a team of bikini clad Meter Maids and a female furore broke out which completely cancelled out the strategic intent.  Fortunately we females have a sense of humour but we also have long memories.

Answer this question to illustrate this point further please.

If you could work in an industry that makes you welcome and appreciates your talents, would you rather be there than in one that makes fun of you or sees you as a sex object?

Fairly self-evident I’d have thought but you can be sure that men wouldn’t put up with the offence if the tables were turned. The reason the tables aren’t turned is because most women would sense men’s discomfort and not put them through it!

What a shame that men aren’t armed with the same intuitive sensitivity!

The motor industry has a similar credibility gap to bridge with women if it wants to be seen as genuinely female friendly. As a male dominated industry with less than 20% of the workforce female it must seem fairly natural to be ‘blokey’ in like-minded company. But women don’t like to be demeaned in this way. They are actively looking for employers and to spend money with businesses that court their skills and provide female friendly service levels.

So the lessons to be learned for a more female friendly motor industry in future are…

• no scantily clad females at car and aftermarket exhibitions and conferences
• no Page Three magazine covers visible in petrol station shops
• no offensive calendars or posters on garage workshop walls
• no haha female motoring jokes in Friday afternoon trade papers
• more recruitment ads with women in mind and where they’ll read them
• more respect for female customers
• more sensitivity towards women – we’re different from you; vive la difference

Not much to ask for really … unless you want to alienate some 50% of your customers that is?

In which case, congratulations because many of you are making a really good fist of it as is.

FOXY

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