Driving Forward: A Significant (re)Search for Gender Equality & Empowerment in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is a dinosaur. Existing for over 100 years and failing to adapt fast enough to society as it evolves.

New research from global mobility brand Lynk & Co and global market & consumer data analysts, Statista, compared gender ratios from some of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and found that the industry has large equality gaps. On average, automotive brands are 15% female, with numbers ranging from 30% at the top and 2% at the very low end.

In response to the seriousness of the problem, Lynk & Co is pledging to achieve an equal 50/50 gender split across the company by the end of 2021 and an equal 50/50 split in management positions by the end of 2023.

While Lynk & Co tends to define itself as a mobility brand, it is still, in many ways, part of the automotive industry. Lynk & Co was founded as an alternative to traditional car brands, and the company is dedicated to creating a more fair, progressive, and sustainable society. Sure, diverse teams are linked to increased profitability. But (much) more importantly: it’s also simply the right thing to do. Huge numbers of talented people are still being excluded and discriminated against based on factors like gender.

“The gatekeepers of the automotive industry have excluded women, and pretty much anyone that isn’t a straight white man, for too long. Lynk & Co is committed to changing that. How can we create solutions that work for everyone, if we don’t have everyone at the table?” – Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co

Other OEMs Gender Split.jpg

In general, Lynk & Co is doing well compared to others in the industry…but it’s a pretty low bar. Lynk & Co currently has a 3X better ratio than the industry average (15%), with 45% of the team identifying as female. The industry numbers are bleak when it comes to women in management as well, with an average of 11% women in management teams and 18% female board directors. At Lynk & Co, 33% of management teams are made up of women and there is an even 50/50 split at board director level.

What’s more, recent studies have shown that companies with a larger representation of females offer a higher financial return and a more collaborative and innovative workforce,2 proving equality is a powerful strength to drive a company forward when encouraged and utilized.

“Equality within the workplace should not just be a goal or a target, what we have found is that it is absolutely critical to the growth & productivity of a company. If people are held back, then we shall never move forward as an industry. Today we have revealed some truly sobering statistics and we are not perfect. That is why we’re setting ourselves a challenging and bold pledge to have a total parity between genders across our entire workforce by the end of 2023.” – Telma Negreiros, VP of PR and Communications

Lynk & Co has taken immediate action in developing a long-term strategy to further improve gender equality and diversity across the brand in the future.