Quest for automotive industry diversity starts within, leaders say

LAS VEGAS — Diversity initiatives don't have an end date. They can't be viewed as a one-time task. And automotive industry leaders should realize those initiatives must be at the core of their respective organizations to work well.

That's the advice of executives and dealers who participated in a Cars.com panel discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion at the NADA Show.

More industry leaders need to do the "heart work" — as in leading with their hearts and initiating change within their own walls, said Marita Thomas, chief communications officer of Cars.com.

"It's not about putting a black box up on social," Thomas said. "It's not just about writing a check to an organization."

DE&I was one of the first topics that came up when Cars.com CEO Alex Vetter interviewed Thomas years ago, she said. Before Thomas even stepped foot in the door, she and Vetter discussed how the company drives representation within itself, she said.

"We sit at the intersection of both automotive and technology, two industries that are not diverse," Thomas said. "So how do you go out and preach the good word if you're not doing it?"

Strong outreach is key to building diversity within the industry, said Myra Dandridge, executive director of external affairs and public policy for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

NADA and the civil rights organization National Urban League have partnered for that reason, Dandridge said.

The organizations said they are collaborating on a two–part work force development initiative that will include a program focusing on hiring and training qualified female and minority candidates to become technicians, Dandridge said. It also will set up internships for students from diverse backgrounds with franchised dealerships, she added.

"We understand that there is a significant shortage in technicians, so we're hoping this is going to help," she said.

Minorities have historically been denied opportunities to enter the industry, so the program is an example of a step in the right direction, said Damon Lester, president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers.

"This is a good jump-start and a good step forward in order to try to create a pathway to give opportunities to individuals who may not have been aware of our industry," Lester said. "The lack of awareness has always been an issue for us."

More technicians are needed, especially in the age of the electric vehicle, he said.

Julie Herrera, dealer principal of Toyota of Cedar Park, near Austin, Texas, said she's had 16 or 17 technicians come from local high schools.

Putting students on the technician career path is fun to watch, especially when they buy their first new cars and first new homes, Herrera said.

"We have to have them," Herrera said. "The back end of the store, as everybody knows, that's how we pay our bills."

Lester said companies still must close gaps in opportunity for minorities on a larger scale, recalling that laws had to be created to finally give minorities the chance to become dealers of their own accord.

"Data shows us that ethnic minority consumers — African American, Asian, Latino, Native American — purchase over 33 percent of all new cars and trucks," Lester said. "If I include Caucasian women, that's bumped up even more. That proves the point that market share exists within our industry for minority consumers."

But of the approximately 18,000 car dealerships in the U.S., just roughly 1,200 are owned by minorities, he pointed out.

Cars.com has had a strong foundation for diversity initiatives — for instance, addressing equitable pay and working on gender and ethnic diversity, Thomas said.

Trying to improve those initiatives all the way down the line can't stop, she said.

"We're never there," Thomas said. "We're never at the end."

Veronica Dunford, the new owner of Women in Automotive, a support and networking group founded in 2015, said the industry has been a boy's club for too long. It needs to be a place where anyone can start a difficult conversation, seek training and get support if they need it, she said.

"If you are not on the same page moving forward, you are never going to go anywhere," Dunford said.