“The only constant in the business is change,” Kathy Caron emphasized.
After 20 years in the automotive industry, she would know. Caron is the General Manager at Hopper Buick GMC in North Bay, and she was recently acknowledged by the Motor Vehicle Retailers of Ontario (MVRO) for a ‘Women Driven Leadership Award,’ one of five recipients province wide.
The Women Driven Leadership award is presented to individuals who inspire women within the industry, and work to open doors to achieve gender parity within the business. In her 20 years, Caron noted a lot of changes within Ontario’s auto industry, and within dealerships throughout the land.
“You started to see a shift about 10 years ago,” Caron said, “and that trend has continued ever since.” She noted that when she started at dealerships, most jobs for women were limited to the reception desk or working on accounts in the back – “you didn’t see too many of them.” Much has changed, as more opportunities open in sales, service, and management roles.
Caron admitted being humbled by the award, which she was nominated for by a former co-worker. It came as a surprise as well, because like most people, she doesn’t live life thinking about herself as being an inspiration. But the nomination and award allowed her to reflect on how her leadership and mentorship really has helped to inspire others.
“One thing that this has showed me is that you can have an influence on other women out there, and I think that’s important to let women know this is a great career,” Caron said.
She encourages younger women to seriously consider the auto industry for work, especially dealerships, which can be overlooked. “It’s a good job, stable, it’s a profession,” she said, noting that when she’s looking to hire, “I’m looking for people who want a career, because this business is all performance based, so there’s always that ability to achieve more.”
“You’re not limited,” she added. “There’s always that ability to learn more and do more,” as the business is ever-changing, “always evolving.”
And although Caron wasn’t expecting the award, the honour “makes you want to do more, when you realize you can evoke some kind of thought process, some kind of change,” she said. “And I think that’s what the award did, it brought awareness to me that maybe I could do more, maybe there is more to be said.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
