Closing the Dealership Gender Gap

While women have an outsized influence on car purchase decisions, they’re a clear minority of car dealership employees. According to NADA, approximately one in five dealership employees are women. That’s why CDK wanted to learn more about these employees as part of our recent 2024 Dealership Workplace Study.

The results are stark.

Job satisfaction overall at dealerships is quite high at 74% of those we surveyed, compared to a national average of 51% across all industries. But only 66% of the women we surveyed were satisfied with their job compared to 77% of men. 

Women employees are also more likely to dissuade friends and family from a career at the dealership compared to men with a quarter (24%) qualifying as detractors compared to just 10% of men.

Pay might be a big reason as only 40% of the women we surveyed said they made over $75K compared to 50% of men. Far more made between $50K and $75K, 57% compared to 40% of men. That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily paid less for the same role as men but may only be filling lower-paid roles at the dealership.

Turning this tide is vital for a dealership’s performance. For one, if your store appeals to women, it dramatically widens the labor pool as well as reduces churn.

Gender balance has also been shown to improve the financial performance and long-term viability of companies. A report from McKinsey found that companies in the upper 25th percentile for gender diversity also enjoyed a 21% higher likelihood of having higher profits than the rest. Adding women to male-orientated jobs, and vice versa, introduces new perspectives, innovations and processes that may not have been revealed before.

Finally, nearly two-thirds (62%) of new car buyers are women. It’s completely understandable for a woman car shopper to want to interact with a woman salesperson on the showroom floor, in the F&I office, and in the Service drive. A more relatable, less intimidating interaction can lead to more sales and increased profit.

What Matters to Women Employees

When we took a look at the factors that are responsible for job satisfaction, women were certainly more vocal than men on everything from compensation and benefits to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The two areas with the largest divergence between men and women were interesting. A heightened focus on DEI might seem a likely factor of more importance to women but when the variance is 21 percentage points, it stands out in a pretty bold way. DEI also surfaces in the areas of dissatisfaction.

Far more women (55%) also wanted to learn more skills compared to 37% of men. With retention such a key concern in our industry, women employees looking to expand their skill set might also be more loyal employees less likely to jump ship.

The Paycheck Matters

The top consideration for women when it comes to job satisfaction were good benefits and good pay. The compensation response of 60% outpaced men significantly at 53%.

Of course, all workers want fair compensation but perhaps more so today. Americans’ feelings of financial insecurity have hit a record high. Despite the growing economy, worries over inflation, the economy in general, and personal debt have one-third (33%) of adults saying they don’t feel financially secure.

The Benefits That Women Focus On

When it comes to benefits, women dealership employees have different priorities than men. It might not be a surprise that paid child care and parental leave are on that list, by factors of two and four respectively. But women are far more interested in a matching 401(k) compared to men as well.

Where Dealerships Fall Short

The list of factors that lead to dissatisfaction has quite a bit of alignment between men and women when it comes to job stress, lack of performance feedback, limited career advancement, and long working hours. But women are far more likely to report dissatisfaction when it comes to inadequate benefits, poor compensation and especially the lack of dealership support for DEI.

Bridge the Gender Gap

Store leadership needs to take a hard look at these results if they’re determined to add more women to their own workforce. They should focus on delivering the financial stability and benefits workers who are women demand and ensure that these opportunities are consistently highlighted in job descriptions, interviews, staff memos and ongoing conversations.

When it comes to inclusion, dealerships have to tackle this challenge from the top down. Dealer leaders must embrace diversification and model this commitment as much as possible. According to all respondents, only 30% said their store had women in leadership roles, which means these efforts need to be led by whoever is at the helm regardless of gender. The NADA initiative Women Driving Auto Retail provides tools and expertise to help dealers increase employment of women.

A dealership should always represent the community it serves whether that’s in the way it delivers customer service or who they hire to deliver it.

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