Mazda UK managing director Jeremy Thomson has stated the time is true to “turbocharge” higher gender range within the automotive sector after turning into the Automotive 30% Membership’s newest Patron and Gold member.
Thomson’s transfer comes after the Japanese automotive model grew to become the primary OEM to attain the Membership’s milestone of a 30% gender steadiness in our senior group and follows its launch of a Gender Balance Initiative throughout its franchised automotive retail community.
Commenting on his new function with the 30% Membership, Thomson stated: “Our engagement with the Automotive 30% Membership dates again some years and I’m delighted that Mazda UK was the primary OEM to attain the important first-step milestone of a 30 per cent gender steadiness in our senior group.
“With the dramatic adjustments in working practices and shopper engagement since 2020 – lots of which I’m sure will endure – I sense that the timing has by no means been higher to turbo-charge our actions to attain a everlasting and long-overdue steadiness throughout our workforce in each side, however significantly in gender illustration.”
Led by Laura Brailey, Mazda UK’s head of retail operations, Mazda’s Gender Stability Initiative was launched earlier this 12 months and is comprised of CEOs, managing administrators and senior leaders from main dealership teams inside Mazda’s UK community.
With a cohort now influencing 53 Mazda seller factors, or 44% of the model’s UK seller community, the collaborative group goals to share useful learnings to construct profitable gender-balanced companies, whereas influencing different dealership teams to rethink illustration and tradition.
“Nowhere within the sector is the problem extra prevalent and deep-rooted than on the seller/retailers,” Thomson stated.
Significantly within the automotive gross sales features, operational administration and seller proprietor/investor areas, the imbalance is especially poor with simply 4% of seller principals and 11% of gross sales government roles crammed by girls (2022 Mazda survey of the business).
“Not solely is that this grossly unfair, however it damages the picture of all producer dealerships, and producer manufacturers, with our mutual clients whose values, gender combine and expectations are merely not met after they go to the UK’s 4,500 franchised shops.”
Julia Muir, CEO of Gaia Innovation and founding father of the Automotive 30% Membership, stated: “It’s my nice pleasure to announce that one in every of our Automotive 30% Membership founder members, Jeremy Thomson MD of Mazda UK, has accepted my invitation to change into a Patron and Gold member of the Membership.
“Having identified Jeremy for a number of years, he was one of many first business leaders I approached over six years in the past to debate the concept of beginning the marketing campaign to construct gender-balanced companies within the UK automotive sector by rising numerous feminine illustration, and he was current on the launch of the Membership in March 2016.
“He and retail operations director Laura Brailey might be vastly useful additions to our patron group.”
