IMI publishes Diversity Task Force Report
22 March 2022 
The IMI has published the final Report from its Diversity Task Force, which cited the lack of diverse role models in the automotive sector as a key problem, and has set out five steps that could change the situation in the industry.
The Diversity Task Force is led by IMI President, Professor Jim Saker and IMI Chief Operating Officer, Lesley Woolley and sponsored by IMI CEO Steve Nash. Commenting on the findings, Professor Saker said: “What has been particularly striking is that the lack of diversity – which unfortunately is already poor in our sector – becomes even more pronounced the higher up the pay-grade. Without diverse role models the sector will struggle to attract the talent that we urgently need as we face the biggest skills shortage for more than 20 years.”
New analysis from the IMI has found that automotive vacancies have hit more than 23,000 or around 4% of the workforce. This is the highest level in 20 years. Analysis of ONS data for the sector has found that the 5% of non-white-British in senior roles in automotive retail is much smaller than non-white-British individuals in senior roles not in automotive, which sits at 13%. Meanwhile, there 19% senior roles are occupied by women in automotive compared to 39% in the non-automotive workforce.
There is some good news however. Disabled individuals in senior roles in automotive retail make up 15% of the total, compared to 12% for those in senior roles outside of automotive. Professor Saker observed: “Automotive compares favourably to other sectors with regards to having a higher proportion of those with disabilities, although still under-represented when compared to 20% of the working population who are registered disabled. It seems that automotive attracts more people with hidden disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD and other areas of neurodiversity than other comparable industry sectors. However, many employees are hidden by organisational cultures that don’t promote openness and discussion about the topic. Small changes to working practices can give the opportunity to unleash the full potential of these employees both for their own benefit and that of the organisation.”
Lesley Woolley added: “All the Task Force working groups said that culture needs to change, behaviours need to change. That change needs buy-in from senior leadership. Each of the working groups also call for the industry to openly share more data on the make-up of the workforce to provide the benchmark to reflect on and measure against.”
The five steps suggested by the report that could change the situation are:
1. Strategic Importance – Signal your commitment to the whole business by putting diversity and inclusion on every Board and Senior Leadership team agenda.
2. Know your Workforce – Many people choose not to share information about disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity etc, with their employer. Make a commitment to understand your staff through better data collection and communication.
3. Small changes, big difference – Many workplace changes or adaptations require very little investment but can significantly improve someone’s ability to perform their job. Commit to asking your staff what changes would make a big difference to them.
4. New Perspective – Commit to reviewing everything through a new ‘lens’ of diversity, equity and inclusion. Look at your policies, procedures, website, customer journey and ways of working, and collaborate with your colleagues to create an inclusive environment.
5. Change Perceptions – To attract and retain talent into the automotive sector we need to clearly demonstrate that great career opportunities are open to all. Commit to proudly showcase a diverse senior leadership team or use diverse role models in outreach programmes for schools, for example. If you are proud to work in automotive, shout about it!
Professor Saker concluded: “Through the enormous commitment made by so many, both from within and outside automotive, we have been able to deliver a Report that I believe provides the catalyst for organisations to make changes that will make a real difference”,
To download the Diversity Task Force Report, go to:
https://tide.theimi.org.uk/about-imi/diversity-task-force%3Futm_campaign%3DDiversity-Task-Force%26utm_medium%3Dfullreport%26utm_source%3DQRCode