Gender Pay Gap in Car Dealerships

Car dealerships across the United States are facing a staggering gender pay gap, surpassing the national average by a significant margin. Recent survey data from Automotive News reveals a troubling disparity, indicating that men working at franchised car dealerships earn an average of $74,300 more than their female counterparts.

The salary gap becomes even more concerning when compared to the average American household income of $74,580 in 2022, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2023, men in the automotive industry earned an average of $218,700, while women earned a considerably lower average of $144,400 during the same period. This translates to women earning only 66 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s estimate that the average American woman makes 83 percent of what the average American man makes in a similar position highlights the severity of the situation. Women working in car dealerships seem to face a 17 percent greater pay gap than women in other professions.

Automotive News surveyed over 1,000 dealership employees, revealing a stark gender imbalance with 85 percent being men and only 13 percent women. Shockingly, 82 percent of the men held managerial or ownership positions, while only 56 percent of the women occupied similar roles, despite women having higher educational qualifications.

The survey shed light on the unequal distribution of job roles, with 34 percent of women working in administrative positions compared to just four percent of men. The automotive industry, it seems, remains an old boy’s club, where men are more likely to secure higher-paying, bonus-dependent roles such as sales and business development.

Another alarming revelation is that 55 percent of men’s annual income in the industry comes from commissions and bonuses, whereas women only derive 30 percent of their income from these sources. The sentiment within the industry is also telling, as only 6.3 percent of men believe the automotive sector is unwelcoming to women, while a staggering 29 percent of women share this sentiment.

Despite the distressing statistics, there is a marginal improvement from 2022, where men earned 1.6 percent more on average, and women faced a 0.2 percent decrease in earnings. The glaring gender pay gap in the American dealership network underscores a broken and unjust system that demands urgent attention and rectification.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Jalopnik news