With the 2004 Chicago Auto Show starting Friday, it’s time to take stock of women and the industry.
“Automotive is still a very male-dominated industry, but more women are coming into the industry, not just in sales and marketing but also in manufacturing and engineering,” said Maureen Sullivan Martin, president of AutoVisionary Inc. a Dallas consulting firm.
She said more women are attending the American Automobile Dealers Association’s dealer candidate school, a springboard to getting dealerships. And there are more manufacturer-supported programs to train women as auto technicians.
But women are still outnumbered in the executive suite, Martin said, despite inroads by women like Kathleen Ligocki, recently named CEO and president of Tower Automotive in Michigan.