Diversity & inclusion

Diversity
& inclusion

We are committed to creating a diverse
and inclusive work community that
enhances our culture and improves our
business through our ability to attract,
identify and develop talent.

We define diversity as any classification that can be
used to differentiate groups or individuals from one
another, including: gender; sex; age; sexual orientation;
disability & neurodiversity; race and ethnic origin;
religion & faith; marital status; and social/educational
background and way of thinking.

We define inclusion as a state of being valued, respected and supported for who you are. We, and our people, strongly believe in pursuing this aim authentically and systemically, expecting to see improvements in metrics, but not being driven by them. We are committed to driving long-term change in both the technology and automotive industries.

Our focus is on developing diverse leaders as well as representative workforces in these industries. We invest heavily in our early careers programmes, as well as supporting several initiatives and partnerships, including Digital Her with Manchester Digital, AUTO30% and our STEM Ambassador Programme.

Our representation of women at a total company level increased from 40% to 43%. During the year, the percentage of women on our Operational Leadership Team (‘OLT’) increased from 44% to 56%. We also increased the percentage of women in leadership roles to 40% as at 31 March 2023 (March 2022: 38%), as defined by the FTSE Women Leaders Review (formerly the Hampton-Alexander review).

To increase our representation across all levels of the organisation, we aim to stimulate the flow of diverse talent from early careers through to senior leadership by both targeted development programmes and equipping our leaders to get the very best out of everyone on their team and support their development through the organisation. Our Continuous Leadership Development programme, made up of a range of training interventions, supports our senior leaders and people managers. We have also continued with our Diverse Talent Accelerator programme designed to support the progression of mid-career colleagues.

Promoting
diversity in the
workplace

We want to build a diverse and inclusive workplace where every
one of us can be our best and true selves; only with a mix of different
ideas and perspectives can we come up with the most exciting new
ideas and create the best experience for our customers and consumers.

We have a number of internal networks that support and align with
our diversity and inclusion strategy.

Everyone at Auto Trader is encouraged to join one of our employee-driven
networks. These networks and their leaders are a core part of our culture,
helping to welcome employees when they join our organisation, empowering
team members to thrive and spearheading outreach programmes that
support our local communities.

Driving our D&I strategy through
our internal networks

We have a number of internal networks that support and align with our diversity
and inclusion strategy. These employee-driven networks and their leaders are a core part of our culture, helping to welcome employees when they join our

organisation, empowering team members to thrive and spearheading outreach programmes that support our local communities. Everyone at Auto Trader is encouraged to join one of our employee-driven networks.

Our Ethnicity Network is a well-established group of Black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues, and allies, that works to tackle inequalities and celebrate inclusivity.

Our Women’s Network is focused on improving and evolving representation of women at all levels in Auto Trader, the automotive industry and the digital communities within which we operate, by recruiting, retaining and developing female talent.

Our Disability & Neurodiversity Network continues to create a more accessible and inclusive environment for our colleagues. 13.5% (2022: 12.8%) of our colleagues have disclosed a disability or neurodiverse condition. The network partners with various charities including Leonard Cheshire, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Business Disability Forum to educate colleagues and raise awareness.

The Career Kickstart Network brings together colleagues from across the business to learn and grow together through shared experiences, resources and discussion.

Our LGBT+ Network representation is currently 9.1% (2022: 8.3%) and the network has continued to support our colleagues and connect with local LGBT+ charities, including The Proud Trust and the George House Trust.

Our Age Network was launched in 2022 and focuses on creating an inclusive environment for the multigenerational workforce of Auto Trader.

Supporting parents and carers across our business, our Family Network works closely with our other networks, our People team and with charities such as Carers UK.

Our Social Mobility Network is focused on understanding how socio-economic background can influence individuals in the workplace and working to remove barriers and open opportunities. Auto Trader has signed the Social Mobility Pledge, committing to putting social mobility at the heart of what we do.

Accreditations & charters

We support various initiatives aligned with Being a
responsible business, including a number of accreditations
and charters that support and align with our diversity and
inclusion strategy.

We have received a number of accreditations
over the year, most notably:

Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report 2023

Our fourth combined Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report
(published in November 2023, reporting the pay gap
as at 5 April 2023).

Download