Over NADA, CARS.com invited ASOTU's founder, Paul J Daly, to moderate a panel of automotive leaders about diversity and inclusion. The experience and perspectives shared in the discussion reflect the speakers' accomplishments and dedication to leading the industry to the power diversity and inclusion contain. We captured a play-by-play.
Myra Dandridge started by sharing an announcement that NADA and the historic civil rights organization, the National Urban League, will be partnering together to amplify their diversity efforts. The Jumpstart Technician Apprenticeship Program will hire and train qualified women and minorities as technicians and interns with franchise dealers.
With a shortage of technicians, the program will encourage students from an uncourted talent pool to seek career opportunities within the franchise dealer workforce in a win-win deal.
"NADA realized they don't live in a silo. The world is an expansive place" - Myra Dandridge
Damon Lester shared his experience finding and training up leaders. He emphasized creating pathways to the opportunities. Saying something like the Jumpstart program is a good step forward because a lack of awareness often keeps these minorities and these jobs apart. Saying technicians who can keep up with the evolution of EVs is a definite need.
Paul and Damon spoke about a specific tech, Ayana, who moved to Damon's service department from a drive-through oil change location. They talked about how passionate she is about her work, meeting customers like a ray of sunshine instead of the usual "people behind a curtain" approach. It is this sort of untapped passion that inclusion will bring into the industry.
"So we got 30% are people buying, and 6% are owners? We want to level the playing field. That's what it means for us. And how do we do it? We build relationships" - Damon Lester.
Many new techs are kids of color and wonderfully take to the left-brain work. Julie Harrera said she is always hiring technicians. Her store currently has 83 techs and works with local high schools to put graduates on future career paths.
CARS.com's Marita Hudson shared that it's not about putting a black box on social, it's not about writing a check to an organization, it's about intentionally doing the heart work. Diversity has to start at home. We cannot push out the good word if we aren't walking the walk.
Marita said When she started with CARS.com, the company already had a strong foundation of inclusion. Focusing pay scale equality across ethnicity and gender. The company has since put in the world toward diversifying the entire organization from the board of directors down.
Currently, the board has three women, two of which are black. Janelle Ross is one and the only second-generation black dealer.
The company is proof doing the work within your walls first is critical.
"I think you work within your walls first because we sit at the intersection of both auto and technology. Two industries that are not diverse. So how are we going to preach the good word? By doing it." -Marita Hudson.
Women in Automotive's Veronica Dunford shared how the network kept people together through the challenges of covid. The company has always championed the education and training of women in the industry. Recently they partnered with Driving Sales to add their HCM platform to their mentorship platform.
They want to offer access to anybody who wants to participate in difficult conversations, training, and support to continue moving forward. Veronica spoke about the network being for men and women. Saying men need to have a space to address the uncertainty of how best to support women.
"People need a safe place to have support, and we're going to be that because if we all come together, we're all going to grow together" - Veronica Dunford.
Damon spoke about the difficult fact that minorities could not own dealerships until 1967 due to the unjust laws of the time. Following that fact, the data shows that minorities purchase 33% of new cars, but they own only 6% of dealerships. The same lack of access and opportunity being addressed at the technical level exists at the dealer level, which Damon's organization, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), works to correct.
Julie added that the data does not lie. Saying in a Toyota meeting recently, the data shows 40% of buyers were people of color, but less than 5% are dealers, and women are directly buying or influencing decisions on 80% of new cars but only account for 2-3% of dealers.
"Write it down, have your strategy, start putting it in action, and then do everything you can to help the industry with more minorities" - Julie Harrera.
It is critical for smart OEMs not to walk but run at diversity. But it will require everybody, dealers, partners, vendors, and the OEMs, to drive toward the goal.
"I think the only way we're going to drive significant change is if we are all on the same page, singing the same song. We are one team, one dream moving this dream forward together. " - Veronica Dunford.
The conversation ended, but the work continues. Diversity starts at home, in our workplaces, at our tables, and in the values we pass to our family. ASOTU is grateful for the time and wisdom shared by the panel today and to CARS.com for setting up the discussion.
The panel:
Paul J Daly -Founder ASOTU
Jenell Ross - President at Bob Ross Auto Group
Marita Hudson-Thomas - Chief Communications Officer at CARS.com
Damon Lester - Owner at Nissan of Bowie / President NAMAD
Julie Harrera - Dealer Principal Toyota of Cedar Park(Cedar Park Toyota)
Myra Dandridge - Executive Director, External Relations and Public Policy at National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
Veronica Dunford - Women in Automotive Executive Director, External Relations and Public Policy at National Automobile Dealers Association