Driving is a great career for women, but polls show 50 percent believe they are underrepresented

A majority of women in the automotive industry say they would recommend it as a career to others.

A survey of 140 women in the industry conducted by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) found that 71 per cent would recommend it as a career.

The survey was conducted as part of SIMI’s efforts to encourage more women to join the sector and coincided with the recent 7th annual Women@SIMI event.

The poll found that 67 percent of respondents believe women have become more visible in the industry in recent years. A majority also said their companies had increased the number of new female employees over the past three years.

However, more than 50 percent believe that women are underrepresented in their organization. And 40pc said women don’t have the same opportunities for advancement as men.

Only 26 percent of respondents said they were at the director/board level in their organization.