A new collective called Women in Automotive New Zealand has been formed to advocate for more females to join the automotive workforce.
The collective says that women are currently under-represented in the industry with only 17% of the total automotive workforce being female, and 6% of current apprentices female.
Founding committee member Natasha Callister says she was inspired to launch Women in Automotive based on 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,” Callister says.
“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.”
“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,” she says.
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.
The collective partners (Collison Repair Association, MITO – Te Pūkenga, Motor Industry Association, Motor Trade Association, Natasha Callister, NZME DRIVEN and Otago Polytechnic – Te Pūkenga) represent and work with many groups across the sector, from school students and apprentices through to those in the corporate new vehicle sector.
