Colors on Parade to be featured at 2017 Women in Automotive Conference

The conference is designed for automotive manufacturers, suppliers, dealerships and collision repair centers. There is a scheduled lineup of over 100 speakers, with topics centered around educating and empowering women and men in the automotive community. Topics will also focus thought and leadership, as well as trends that impact employment and sales growth. The agenda for WIA’s Summer Conference includes a dozen workshops, a plethora of presentations from industry leaders, keynote awards and a mentoring program, as well as several networking opportunities. Workshops will focus on a variety of topics ranging from new employees in the industry to developing leaders, branding and even workplace wardrobes. According to Founder Jody DeVere, “Our agenda is rich in content because we are teaching the industry as a whole about women’s employment, leadership, sales and marketing.” WIA was founded by a small group of women who saw a need to focus on closing the gender gap by educating the industry about attracting, recruiting and retaining female employees, developing female leaders, and increasing marketing knowledge about female consumers.

Currently, the percentage of female automotive employees remains stagnant at just 18 percent. (according to NADA 2014 data). About 500 of the women that make up the 18 percent participated in this year’s conference. A major recruiter mentioned that they have received over 1,000,000 resumes, of which 40 percent were from women – but only 1 out of 4 are actually hired by dealers. Whether that’s a function of the job requirements or dealer preference, Women in Automotive is committed to bringing the two sides together. Women in Automotive will focus on the dealer side, through training and education on how to create a balanced position for women by providing a network and opportunities for development.

In addition to women, millennials continue to influence the market more and more. This powerful generation now purchases more cars than any other generation in the United States. It is apparent that these growing trends are important to dealerships and manufactures. Colors On Parade is excited to be involved with the Women In Automotive movement, and will continue to contribute to the growing number of women in the industry.

“We are thrilled to attend the Women in Automotive Conference for the third year in a row,” said Jeff Cox, president of Colors on Parade. “This conference is a great way to share, learn and be inspired by women and leaders in the automotive industry from around the world. We look forward to implementing all of the takeaways we learn.”