Auto Trader has launched a new series of webinars in partnership with the Automotive 30% Club, in order to promote greater diversity in the automotive sector.

The new series, Courageous Conversations, is free to attend and is designed to provide a forum to share ideas and hear guidance on achieving greater diverse gender balance across the industry.

Each bi-monthly episode will feature a panel of automotive thought leaders and experts who’ll be joining host, Rebecca Clark, Auto Trader’s sales director, to discuss their journey in creating a more positive culture for all women within their business, as well as exploring some of the big issues relating to gender diversity.

Episode one, which will launch at 10:00am on August 4, 2020, includes Marshall Motor Group’s CEO Daksh Gupta and franchise director Carole Merry, as well as Auto Trader’s CEO Catherine Faiers (pictured) and senior campaign manager Rebecca Nassiri.

Along with the Automotive 30% Club’s founder, Julia Muir, they’ll be discussing intersectionality of women in automotive and why greater diversity of women in the industry will be vital to its future success. There will also be time dedicated for an interactive Q&A.

Faiers and Gupta are among five Patrons of the Automotive 30% Club and will help Muir to steer the activities of the Club via an advisory panel. Courageous Conversations is part of Auto Trader’s commitment as a Patron.

Faiers said: “Gender diversity, and diversity and inclusion more broadly, is something that we care passionately about at Auto Trader. At such a challenging time we believe the need to attract and retain the very best talent who not only bring fresh thinking and creativity to our businesses, but also represent the communities we serve, has never been more important. It’s our hope that this collaborative series offers inspiration and provides practical tips that can be implemented across other businesses.” 

Muir added: “Business teams with a balance of diverse women and men make better decisions than homogenous teams, leading to superior financial performance. This is due to their different but complementary insight, perspectives and propensity for risk.  The rise in female purchasing power means businesses with a better understanding of this customer will provide products and services with a broader appeal and so reap the returns in an economically challenging environment. We also know that the skills needed so urgently, such as critical thinking, judgement, and the ability to adapt quickly and pivot to new business models in a crisis are found to a greater extent in inclusive teams.”