The broken rung theory: retaining women
London, 6th June, London: Episode 13 of the new Auto Trader podcast Women in the driving seat, hosted by Editorial Director, award-winning motoring journalist Erin Baker is released today. The series aims to rip up the rule book on the female-empowerment narrative by sharing personal as well as professional experiences, examining the space where both collide, and the challenges, fears and successes happen.
This episode explores asking for flexibility and support in the workplace, how primary caregivers (often women) juggle life and work and the importance of teaching children, especially boys, how to fend for themselves. We also explore how the automotive industry is one of the few industries where you can truly work your way up from an entry position.
All episodes in the series feature a Podcast Pit Stop – a quick fire round covering the professional and personal including; Lark or owl? Circuit or circuits? Phone by the bed or phone downstairs?
Join Erin as she puts two powerhouses of the automotive industry in the driving seat.
Podcast preview
Erin Baker:
“I currently feel like I can’t breathe and I do think we [women] over index for that … for feeling swamped”
“You can’t escape the fact that women are the primary caregivers and that becomes really relevant for how women’s careers are going to pan out”
“My 15 year old son can barely use the toaster, and I count myself as a feminist”
Penny Wetherup:
“When you work the hours we work, you spend more time with your teams than your family which is something that really hit home to me when I was leaving…so I do really miss them.”
“I think there’s something around fatigue to be honest…when you have a lot going on and as you get older, you need more opportunities to be able to work differently. I’ve experienced real release in terms of having head space which I just couldn’t get when I was working full time.”
“It’s a proactive conversation as you move through the different decades about how you might want to be working… age shouldn’t be a prohibitor. But I think women are juggling a lot of things around that.”
“What I might have done is made some different career choices earlier on in my career which would then mean that as you get older there might be more openings for you to consider.”
“As you get to a more senior role there’s more latitude to make those decisions.”
“We had carers leave, leave for mental health - we had more men taking up their parental leave rights in the last few years…the key is that it’s flexible”
“I think women are comfortable in specialist areas, like marketing, HR, finance… there’s comfort in knowing your stuff – you’re an expert in that particular topic.”
“a lack of experiential capital, so great if you’re a specialist but if you want to move into a more senior role… you need a plan for how you’ve going to get exposure into those areas and think about that earlier on because there tends to be a reluctance to move women into those areas without that experience”
“I think there’s something about mums and sons here… when sons are growing up I think they also need to learn how to cook, some of the domestic chores – some do I am sure but it comes down to the women”
“My perceptions of what the board role was actually like vs reality was actually quite different.”
“Incorrect perceptions around the really positive aspects of being part of a board, and that can impact people’s ambition.”
Sue Corkin:
“A lot of time in the car, a lot of organisation, a. lot of pre planning of when washing and ironing is gonna be done to make sure everyone’s got what they need…I just made sure I had enough time to do the bits I needed for the stuff I’ve got to go to and that the kids have got what they need.”
“The company I work for allows that time, when you need that time… I know full well within my remit that’s up to me… that could be I switch off for half a day and walk the dog…the work is always there.”
“I’m not saying it’s all fluffy, we work in retail, it’s full on 7 days a week, we work in retail but there is some flex when people need it.”
“We have to design an environment where people can ask for help”
“You’d do anything you could to keep someone good, you’d reasonably adjust as much as possible.”
“Dealer world is a bit more advanced than an OEM point of view in terms of senior roles being held by women.”
“My route into the industry was very much left school, straight into the motor trade… I didn’t go to college, I didn’t go to uni... It is an industry where you can work your way up…I do think our industry is one of the few industries where you can use that route, if you work hard and prepare to dig deep you have that opportunity and we should probably celebrate that more.”
“Women lack that self-belief, we have that fear of failure that means we maybe hold ourselves back”
“the house is chaos, it’s noisy and messy”
“hard work does pay off and going above and beyond is rewarded”
Auto Trader’s new podcast Women in the driving seat releases new episodes every Thursday.
Notes to editors
ABOUT ERIN BAKER
Erin Baker is an award-winning motoring journalist and Editorial Director of Auto Trader. She writes a monthly driving column for Vogue, is a World Car of the Year judge, consults for Goodwood and hosts She's Electric, a national roadshow bringing women and electric cars together. Erin is passionate about narrowing the gender gap, both in the automotive industry itself and between car brands and female consumers, through more targeted language, marketing and experiences. She is a divorced mother of two boys.
ABOUT AUTO TRADER
Auto Trader Group plc is the UK’s largest automotive platform. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2015 and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.
Auto Trader’s purpose is Driving Change Together. Responsibly. Auto Trader is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, it aims to build stronger partnerships with its customers and use its voice and influence to drive more environmentally friendly vehicle choices.
With the largest number of car buyers and the largest choice of trusted stock, Auto Trader’s marketplace sits at the heart of the UK car buying process. That marketplace is built on an industry-leading technology and data platform, which is increasingly used across the automotive industry. Auto Trader is continuing to bring more of the car buying journey online, creating an improved buying experience, whilst enabling all its retailer partners to sell vehicles online.
Auto Trader publishes a monthly used car Retail Price Index which is based on pricing analysis of circa 800,000 unique vehicles. The same data that powers the Index is used by the Office for National Statistics to make the UK’s official measures of inflation more robust, as well as the Bank of England to feed the broader UK economic indicators.
For more information, please visit: plc.autotrader.co.uk
Follow us on our social channels to keep up with the latest news, insights and company developments.
If you would like to be added to our News & views mailing list, or have any media-related enquiries, please contact our press team:
Sign up to our email alerts service:
Join our news & views mailing list
or submit media-related enquiries:
