MichAuto’s CEO Coalition for Change was created by CEOs committed to making meaningful strides in automotive industry diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
A Letter from Cheryl Thompson and Glenn Stevens Jr.
The Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement (CADIA) and MichAuto are committed to designing and supporting programs and resources to support automotive companies
to drive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across their organizations so that our industry reflects the diverse nature of the communities in which it operates and serves.
To accomplish this mission, our industry will need to create a new paradigm for recruiting, hiring, assessing performance, developing talent, and meeting employees’ needs. This will require programs and resources that intentionally develop leaders across all industry functional areas.
The CEO Coalition for Change was created by CEOs committed to taking the actions necessary to make meaningful strides in DEI in the industry.
The CEO Coalition for Change is, at its heart, a learning community. We understand that no one person or company completely understands this ever-evolving topic, and we are constantly learning from one another.
We are excited to share some of what we’ve learned in our first Annual Report. We hope that it motivates you to begin – or continue – the critical work of building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable automotive industry.
Read the Full Report
The Case for Change: All Things Are Not Equal
Available data paints a picture of an automotive industry that is not very diverse in terms of its workforce in gender, race, ethnicity, and other diversity dimensions. Leadership in the industry remains predominantly white and male in North America. Globally, there exists a similar lack of diversity as well. Anecdotal data indicates that attrition rates in the industry for women and minorities exceed the rates of their majority counterparts.
Women make up almost exactly half of the U.S. workforce. This chart shows the percentages of women in the automotive industry, alongside the percentages for Asian, Black or African American, and Hispanic or Latino people in the automotive workforce. The numbers are even lower for other non-majority demographics, including Indigenous peoples, veterans, individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other diversity dimensions.
Since its founding, the Coalition has expanded to 16 members working together to progress toward a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse industry. This peer group of CEOs (or leaders with equivalent responsibility) strives to inspire executives and drive accountability in changing the workplace culture and workforce composition at all levels within all functions.
In 2023, MichAuto partnered with the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion, and Advancement (CADIA) for a DEI industry study, Driving Diversity: Unlocking the Power of Diverse Workforces for the Future of the Transportation Industry. This study, funded by MichAuto and the State of Michigan in partnership with KPMG, establishes key baseline data, provides benchmarks for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and provides recommendations on how to impact the DEI measures found within the study. Learn more and download the report.
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