Encouraging women to seek out careers in parts and service

Dealerships have traditionally employed many more men that women, we all know that. A survey released from NADA shows that 92 percent of dealership office and administration workers are women, but females account for only 19 percent of F&I positions. Unfortunately, that’s still better than the women in parts and service, which is only 13 percent.

Celeste Briggs heads the General Motors Women’s Retail Network, an initiative that encourages women to seek out a career in the auto industry. Since 2011, the project has awarded about $100,000 in scholarships to women, and what has surprised Briggs is that half of last years’ recipients wanted to work in service departments. She’s doing what to she can to attract women to auto careers, striving to create a gender-balanced environment.

As consumers, women are involved in 85 percent of car-buying decisions, and when it comes to service spending, women spend 200 billion on auto service work!

The number of female dealership principals is increasing, due to initiatives like the GM Women’s Retail Network and dealership succession at family owned stores.

Source: WardsAuto