Women in Fleet: Where the Industry Stands, What the Data Shows, and What Comes Next

The State of Women in Fleet

Fleet management has a representation problem. Women make up a small fraction of the fleet and automotive trades workforce, a reality that reflects broader patterns across skilled trades and transportation-related industries, but one that the fleet sector has been slow to address with sustained, structural effort.

Estimates for women in fleet management roles vary, but industry voices consistently place the figure in the low single digits. Shae Davies, Fleet Manager for the City of Aurora, Colorado and a nearly 30-year veteran of the industry, referenced this in a recent conversation: "Last I heard it was 3%. It might be closer to 6 by now, but the last time I checked, I want to say it was in the single digits for sure."

For context, women make up approximately 47 percent of the total U.S. labor force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In automotive service and repair occupations, that representation drops significantly, and in public fleet management leadership, the gap is even more pronounced.

What the Career Actually Offers

Part of the representation gap in skilled trades comes from how the work is perceived versus what it actually is. Fleet management is a well-compensated, technically complex, leadership-driven career with a clear progression from entry-level technician to shop supervisor to fleet director.

Benefits of a public fleet career include job stability, pension or retirement programs, health coverage, training reimbursement, and in many agencies, apprenticeship programs that allow workers to earn while they develop skills. Fleet managers at the director level often oversee multi-million dollar budgets, large teams, and complex asset portfolios.

Davies noted the progression directly: "I started with the city of Seattle as an apprentice mechanic and I left as a shop operations supervisor. I spent there almost 20 years. They paid for schooling as well. So there's ways of looking at getting committed lifelong fleet career professionals that has been ignored and underserved."

The issue is not that the career is unattractive. The issue is that it is not being presented to women and girls in a way that makes the full picture visible.

Barriers That Still Exist

Representation alone does not describe the experience of women who do enter fleet and the trades. The industry has been candid in recent years about the barriers that remain.

Promotional bias is well documented in male-dominated industries. Davies described a pattern she encountered early in her career: being passed over for promotions with justifications that could not hold up to scrutiny, and having to build a case against each excuse before the next one appeared. "It was just having to be the first," she said. "And I think when you get farther into meeting with different women in fleet, there's gonna be a common theme about a lot of us have always had to be the first."

Workplace culture remains a factor. Progress has been made, but the trades still operate in environments where norms, humor, and informal dynamics can make it harder for women to establish authority and credibility on equal footing.

Equipment and safety gear design has lagged. Davies specifically called out the state of personal protective equipment and workwear: "Safety gear designed for women. And I don't just mean smaller because it's a dude's smaller size. I mean, safety gear that should be designed and built around our bodies and our frames." Companies producing women-designed safety gear are beginning to emerge, but availability remains limited.

Why Representation Matters for Fleet Performance

The case for diversity in fleet is not only about fairness, though fairness matters. There is also a practical case.

Problem-solving improves in teams with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. Fleet operations are complex, involving logistics, budget management, vendor relationships, technology deployment, and personnel leadership. Teams that bring a range of viewpoints to those challenges tend to find better solutions.

Davies framed it this way: "We desperately need you. We need the perspectives. We need new ways of problem solving. We need the way that women connect and build communities."

As the industry faces a compounding technician shortage and an urgent need to attract the next generation of workers, expanding the pipeline to include more women is not optional. It is essential.

What Organizations Can Do

Fleet managers and fleet directors who want to move the needle on representation have practical options.

Engage vocational programs and trade schools with targeted outreach to young women. Many schools have automotive and fleet programs with little to no visible representation of women in the career materials or instruction.

Create internal mentorship structures. Women entering fleet benefit significantly from visible role models who have navigated similar challenges. Agencies that do not have those connections internally can facilitate them through industry organizations.

Review job posting language for inadvertent barriers. Research consistently shows that job descriptions written around masculine-coded language attract fewer women applicants, even when the role is fully open.

Build career progression visibility into recruiting. Entry-level technician roles are more attractive when candidates can see the full arc of a fleet career, including leadership pathways, pay progression, and the breadth of work involved.

Recognize and elevate the people who are already leading well. Visibility matters. When women in fleet are recognized publicly for their contributions and expertise, it signals to others that this is a place where they can belong.

The Bigger Picture

The fleet industry is at an inflection point. An aging workforce, a tightening labor market, advancing technology, and increasing public scrutiny of how government services are delivered are all converging at the same time.

This is also a moment of real opportunity. Agencies and organizations that invest in building a more diverse, well-supported, and visible workforce now will be better positioned for what comes next. And the women who are already in this industry, people who have spent careers being the first, building things that outlast them, and refusing to leave it worse than they found it, have already shown what that looks like.

This article was inspired by a recent episode of our podcast. Check out the full episode for even more tips and tricks: