Automotive News Canada - November 2022 - 26

26
* NOVEMBER 2022
A new engine
to drive diversity
'Women can ... have
this new, untouched
territory where we can
start placing ourselves'
By EMILY ATKINS
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH
as autonomous driving and electrified
mobility provide an unprecedented
opportunity for the auto
industry to diversify its workforce,
according to an Automotive News
Canada Leading Women roundtable.
This shift is opening the industry
to a new group of professionals
with deep scientific
and technical
skills and education, said
Greta Cutulenco, CEO and
co-founder of manufacturing-technology
company
Acerta Analytics Solutions.
Also on the Oct. 24 panel
that focused on auto manufacturing
were Kristina
Covello-Garcia, national
manager of marketing communications
at Hyundai
Canada, and Anne Marie
Desando, vice-president of
manufacturer partnerships
and dealer programs at
Scotiabank.
Greta
The rapid development
of new technologies
is increasing the need for
workers with experience in
science, technology, engineering
and mathematics
(STEM), Cutulenco said.
" Unlike in the past,
where we have to find a
place for ourselves in an
already well-established
industry, these new opportunities
are novel areas, "
she said. " And I'd say
women can ... have this
new, untouched territory
where we can start placing
ourselves. I think it's opening
a lot more opportunity
for women today. "
Cutulenco shared her
own experience, joining the
industry through an internship
at Canadian supply
giant Magna International
in a software role. She
highlighted the huge
opportunity that exists for
women today in engineering
fields, such as connected-vehicle
applications and
in bringing machine learning
to the manufacturing
floor.
Cutulenco
CEO, Acerta
Analytics
Solutions
ness and loving cars can also be two
different things. "
Getting the word out comes
down to building partnerships with
organizations such as educational
institutions. Covello-Garcia cited
Hyundai Canada's strategy of working
with trade schools and universities
and offering scholarships
to women and other underrepresented
groups. The company also
builds networking opportunities for
groups to help create a pool of talent
for recruiting.
SESSION 1
OEM panel
Hyundai also supports women
who want to move up the ladder,
which is something Covello-Garcia
has experienced. She had just graduated
from an executive
MBA program when
Hyundai " provided me
with the support and flexibility
to accomplish this
incredible achievement. "
" I even actually got
promoted a quarter of
the way through, which
demonstrated great confidence
in my abilities that
invigorated me to succeed, "
she said.
EMPHASIZING DEI
The importance of setting
an example by hiring
and promoting women is
critical to Scotiabank's
strategy, Desando said.
The company does " a
lot of goal setting and setting
key metrics in the
workforce just around
ensuring our employee
population is representative
of what our customer
base looks like, which
is really a big, important
part of DEI. "
Anne Marie
Desando
Vice-president
of manufacturer
partnerships and
dealer programs,
Scotiabank
It's still a male-dominated
industry, however.
Covello-Garcia acknowledged
that while she has
been accepted, recognized
and promoted, she still
believes that she had to
work harder than others.
It was the " notion of having
to prove yourself and
maybe going above and
beyond, " she said.
Work remains to be
done to ensure a welcoming
and nurturing environment,
the panelists
agreed.
Kristina
Drawing women into
nontraditional jobs is
extremely important,
Desando said. " We have to
help foster talent and really encourage
women to come into this business
and think about data, sales,
finance, " she said. " There's a myriad
of opportunities. "
LOVING CARS IS NOT MANDATORY
It's important for women and
other underrepresented groups to
know that being passionate about
automotive doesn't mean you have
to be a " car person, " Desando said.
" You don't have to love cars. It's a
bonus if you do. But loving the busiCovello-Garcia
National
manager
of marketing
communications,
Hyundai Canada
" One of our core values
is a culture of transparency,
where there's no
wrong question to ask, "
said Acerta's Cutulenco.
" If anybody's looking for
guidance and understanding
of why are we doing
something as a company
and looking really for
direction, we all make ourselves
available. "
To attract and retain women,
workplaces must offer a vibrant
and exciting environment, said
Scotiabank's Desando.
" I see younger and newer employees
coming in, and they want to
move quickly, " she said. " They want
a lot of different experiences.
" I think it's incumbent upon us
to make sure that they have those
interesting experiences and opportunities
to stretch themselves. " - ANC
THE THIRDLEADING WOMEN
ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS
ANNUAL
1 OEM PANEL 2 WOMEN IN RETAIL
VIEW THE DISCUSSIONS: www.automotivenews.ca (events & awards tab)
To connect with females,
employers need a plan
'The more we are intentional,
the more we will bring
the best talents . . . '
By EMILY ATKINS
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
WOMEN ARE " PHENOMENAL LEADERS, "
and employers must develop strategies
to draw them into the auto industry,
participants said during Automotive News
Canada's Leading Women retail roundtable.
As the industry shifts away from the old
business model that saw dealerships passed
down from father to
son, a gradual recognition
has emerged that
women bring a lot to
the table, said Shannon
Slaughter, principal of
Hyundai Pembroke, west
of Ottawa.
" Historically, a dealer
principal did not look
like a woman, " Slaughter
said. " Women are phenomenal
leaders, and
I think that having the
support of men and
women in higher executive
and leadership positions
is really how we
break down that barrier. "
The more female leaders
are seen, said Claudia
Sciama, managing director
of autos and consumer
goods at Google
Canada, the more the
industry will attract.
And it must be intentional.
Develop a plan for
recruitment and retention
of women.
" The more we are
intentional, the more we
will bring the best talents
and retain the ones who
will cultivate the leaders
of the future, " Sciama
said.
Also on the Oct. 24
panel was Brittany
Deveau, general manager
of Bruce Hyundai in New Minas, N.S., and
Susannah Spence, director and market lead
for the Atlantic Region at Scotiabank.
THE POWER OF FEMALE EXAMPLE
Female representation in automotive
retail is climbing, but room remains for
improvement, the panelists said.
" We need to make it feel like a welcoming,
inclusive culture " and something women
would want to be a part of, Spence said.
" It's about mentoring ... about providing
them with a supportive environment, " she
said.
In areas where women are underrepresented
- in service departments, for example
- the power of a female example is influential,
Deveau said. She noted that a female
vice-president in her organization with a
background in fixed operations is able to
explain to potential new hires what she went
through to achieve success.
" When you bring personal experience into
it, it really helps people see that it is possible, "
Deveau said.
SESSION 2
Women in retail
The support from male managers can go
a long way toward elevating women into
senior roles, Spence said. When she began
working in automotive finance more than 20
years ago, few women were in management.
It took the support of male managers who
sought her out and mentored
Spence into a senior
position.
And she was not alone.
" When I first joined in
my role as director, market
lead, [women made
up] 10 per cent [of] my
team, " Spence said. " And
in that time, since I've
been in the role, we've
actually transitioned to 60
per cent females. "
Shannon
Slaughter
Dealer principal,
Hyundai
Pembroke
Brittany
Deveau
General manager,
Bruce Hyundai
The automotive industry,
however, continues
to attract more men than
women, Sciama said.
When she needs to fill a
position, she ensures that
the pipeline of candidates
has men and women.
" They don't need to
know all the technical
aspects, " Sciama said.
" They just need to have
a people skill set, and the
rest they can learn. "
SHOW THE OPPORTUNITIES
Claudia
Sciama
Managing
director of autos
and consumer
goods,
Google Canada
Susannah
Spence
Director and
market lead,
Atlantic Region,
Scotiabank
Like many women in
the business, Deveau said
she fell into it by accident.
The industry is missing
the opportunity to market
itself to younger women.
" I wish that it had been
talked about more when
I was in school, " Deveau
said. " I wish that when I
went to a job fair, there
was someone from the dealership there
talking about the opportunities available. "
It's critical to let female employees demonstrate
their success and encourage newcomers
to the industry through networking,
Slaughter said. " Having these conversations
is going to really be able to attract and retain
women in the business, " she said.
For women who are hesitant to make the
jump into automotive, " you've just got to
push past those stereotypes and go for it, "
Slaughter said. " I think women are some of
the most innovative and most productive
and target-driven leaders. And we need more
women in the automotive industry. " - ANC
http://www.automotivenews.ca
Automotive News Canada - November 2022

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