DRIVEN Car Guide parent company NZME hosted the launch, first official gathering and a panel event for a new collective called Women in Automotive New Zealand this week.
The organisation aims to advocate for more women to join the workforce of the automotive industry. Currently women comprise just 17 per cent of the total automotive workforce, and only 6 per cent of current apprentices are female.
Founding committee member, Natasha Callister, says the catalyst for Women in Automotive was her own career experience in male-dominated industries: “I know first-hand the challenges women can face, but also the tools, support frameworks and strategies that can help progress careers into senior levels.
The panel (above, from left to right) comprised Toni Harris (apprentice automotive technician, Auto Super Shoppe Te Awamutu), Simon Rutherford (managing director Ford NZ, president of MIA), Louise Sixton (general manager of sales & operations, Repco NZ), Gina Sim (Auto Drive Holdings), David Storey (Auto Super Shoppes) and Natasha Callister (moderator, chief commercial officer, MTF).
“Our purpose is to bring together organisations of influence behind a co-ordinated and aligned effort to deliver on the ambition of increasing the participation of women across the automotive industry, and advance women into senior leadership roles,” says Callister.
“We know that business owners want to understand how they can make their vehicle dealerships and workshop environments more inviting and comfortable; they understand that increasing the representation of women is not just the right thing to do but it also makes smart business sense.
We also know that the women currently working in the industry simply love what they do and want to help other women join them.”
As well as providing tools and resources to help businesses recruit women, the initiative will also celebrate the success of women in automotive training and careers and link them as mentors to other women to help their journey to the industry.
Collective partners include the Collision Repair Association, MITO - Te Pūkenga, Motor Industry Association, Motor Trade Association, Natasha Callister, NZME DRIVEN Car Guide and Otago Polytechnic – Te Pūkenga. They represent and work with many groups across the sector, from school students and apprentices through to those in the corporate new vehicle sector.
