“I was very nervous when my dad decided to put me at our BMW store,” recalled Kelly Suntrup Stumpe, aka The Car Mom. “I was 22 years old; I had never sold a car, and yet I’m now selling $80,000 5 Series cars to people two or three times my age.”

An Uphill Battle

Stumpe, the St. Louis native and founder of The Car Mom, stands at a critical intersection between the automotive business and women. Today, there is a significant cultural movement to recognize women in automotive (and many other industries) for their contributions. Likewise, there is more acknowledgment today that females are the top auto-buying demographic. On the industry side, Stumpe is an inspiration for women who have aspirations of an automotive career. On the consumer side, her skills and personality lower the reservations people have, especially women, about setting foot in a dealership.
From an industry perspective, the road is still undeniably (and often unfairly) hard for women in the automotive. According to research from Automotive News and Deloitte, women account for only 27 percent of the U.S. auto manufacturing workforce. In a survey conducted by both organizations in October 2018 called Women at the Wheel, just one percent said automotive was the best industry for females. Only 14 percent said they would encourage their female family members and friends to pursue an automotive career. Beyond that, 74 percent of female respondents said there are differen...