Women in the Dealership: Progress, Growth and Opportunity in 2026

The automotive retail industry has made progress in creating opportunities for women, but the latest data suggests there’s still work to do when it comes to turning opportunity into long-term advancement. 

In the 2026 CDK Dealership Workplace Study of nearly 450 dealership employees, women made up about a quarter of respondents. That aligns with last year’s results and this year’s study with a dealership workforce comprised of roughly 80% men and 20% women. 

The good news is that both men and women continue to be satisfied with their dealership careers (80% versus 82%). Overall, women reported feeling motivated at work, increasingly confident that their income reflects their skills, and — perhaps most importantly — are at least as likely as men to recommend automotive retail as a career.

That’s a strong foundation for an industry working to attract and retain more women. But the data also points to an opportunity for dealership leaders: Women see automotive retail as a place to grow, but culture and the perception that women have to work harder to prove themselves can still stand in the way.

Women Are Motivated and See More Opportunity

Overall workplace motivation is remarkably strong among women in automotive retail. Ninety percent of women say they’re motivated at work, compared with 91% of men. That near-parity is encouraging for dealerships looking to build and retain engaged teams.

There’s also movement in how women view the connection between their skills and their compensation. In 2026, 62% of women said their income reflects their skill level, compared with 69% of men. That's still a considerable gap, but it’s significantly higher than 2025, when only 50% of women felt their income reflected their skill level.

The landscape is somewhat different when it comes to effort. Just 56% percent of women say their income reflects the effort they put into their work, compared with 73% of men. Compensation isn't just about dollars; employees' perceptions of whether they’re being fairly rewarded can influence how they view their opportunities and future with an organization.

Still, the broader sentiment among women is positive. One respondent said, “I have had a wonderful career and have not had too many obstacles put in place to hinder my advancement.” Another explained why she’d recommend the industry to other women: “It has provided me with opportunities to learn, grow and challenge myself professionally.”

Those comments reinforce the important point that automotive retail can offer women meaningful careers and opportunities to advance.

Women Are Willing To Recommend Automotive Retail

The data around career advocacy is particularly interesting. In 2026, 35% of women said they’d recommend automotive retail as a career to colleagues or friends. That compares with 28% of men.

While neither score seems terribly positive, and 36% of both men and women said they wouldn’t recommend a career in automotive retail, women are nonetheless more likely than men to do so. “The automotive industry offers a variety of career paths and allows women to make meaningful contributions in roles that may traditionally have been male-dominated,” one respondent said. Another pointed to the importance of an individual dealership's culture: “They hire by ability, not by gender.”

That may be one of the most important lessons for dealership leaders. The experience of working in automotive retail isn't necessarily defined by the industry alone. It’s heavily influenced by the dealership, its leadership and the culture those leaders create.

Turn Positive Experiences Into the Norm

There’s still room to improve. Sixty percent of respondents say their dealership includes women in leadership roles, essentially unchanged from 61% in 2025.

The next question is: What can be done to promote greater gender diversity and fairness? Here’s what the women in our study recommended: 

• Forty-two percent pointed to leadership training to improve adaptability in the dealership environment.
• Thirty-nine percent cited continuing education in their current position.
• Thirty-nine percent identified recruiting women both internally and externally. 
• Thirty-two percent said leaders and mentors specifically supporting women could make a difference.

Culture Still Matters

So, what’s holding women back when it comes to unreservedly recommending a dealership career to other women? It may be no surprise that the most consistent barrier centers on culture, particularly the perception that dealerships remain heavily male-dominated and not welcoming to women. 

One respondent put it plainly: “It takes a certain type of woman to work in a ‘man’s world’ and a dealership is definitely a man’s world.” Others described having to work harder to be taken seriously. “A lot of men don't think you are capable as a woman to do this job, even though women have proven this to be false,” one respondent said. Another described the environment this way: “This is a predominantly male-dominated place. You need a tough skin and backbone. Not everyone can handle it.”

For dealership executives and managers, these comments shouldn't overshadow the positive data. They should make the opportunity clearer: Women aren't telling the industry that they don't want to be here. They're saying they see opportunities to learn, grow, earn and lead. The challenge is making sure dealership culture doesn't create unnecessary barriers along the way.