Lorraine Explains: Canadian company tackles racism in the auto industry

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Systemic racism is a huge and troubling issue, but one Canadian company has been specifically working to fight it for almost a year. In February 2020, Cox Automotive Canada launched its Black Employee Network (BEN), encouraging staff and others in the industry to take a stand against racism.

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The network predated June 6, 2020, which the New York Times noted was the peak of Black Lives Matter protests that had b een rumbling across that nation – and around the world – since 2013. On that day , “half a million people turned out in nearly 550 places across the United States.”

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Lorraine Explains: Canadian company tackles racism in the auto industry Back to video

Cox Automotive is a global company with over 34,000 employees, and they work in partnership with more than 55,000 auto dealers. It is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., which has served the auto industry since 1926. Almost every aspect of how we buy, sell, and use cars is affected by work Cox does through its many arms, which in Canada includes technology platforms Clutch, Dealer.com, HomeNet, Modix, vAuto, VinSolutions, Xtime, and Dealertrack; vehicle evaluator Kelley Blue Book; auto auction company Manheim; credit company NextGear Capital; transport company Ready Logistics; analytics firm RMS Automotive; and collaboration with online automotive marketplace CarGurus.

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The company is a global powerhouse, and that makes Cox Automotive Canada’s dedication to rooting out anti-Black and systemic racism, and increasing diversity in its ranks, so important. Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada & Brazil since 2015, is blunt about changes the company knew it had to make. The social unrest was too big to ignore. “We turned to our Black members for insight. We knew we had to have many difficult, often uncomfortable conversations, but we also knew we would be unwavering in our stance to providing the support networks to our team members.”

The formation of the Black Employee Network led to intense dialogues where Black employees embraced the freedom to tell their stories. Emiliano Void, National Operations manager and co-chair of the BEN, knew systemic problems would require systematic solutions. He doesn’t mince words. 

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“Unfortunately, all Black people, including myself, have experienced some form of anti-Black and systemic racism in their lives, and these experiences can never be turned into something positive. However, these experiences do lay a foundation that is driving important conversations to ensure that future generations will not face similar hurdles.”

As the company was assembling its BEN and commencing what it called Real About Race conversations, the BlackNorth Initiative (BNI) was also gaining steam. Backed by 200 corporate leaders in Canada, including three of the big banks, the organization was running parallel goals to what Cox was already initiating in-house. Recognizing that, Soklis made Cox Automotive Canada the first automotive-industry company to sign that BNI pledge in November of 2020. Hyundai soon followed suit.

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While BEN was initiated by Cox’s Canadian arm, Void notes that while they were creating the first “Black-focused employee resource group (ERG) in any Cox Automotive market, the work that our BEN team is doing here in Canada is (now) leading some very important and meaningful conversations about anti-Black and systemic racism locally, but we are also very excited and proud that many of our colleagues from the U.S. and international markets have connected with us to collaborate on this subject.” 

The conversation about racism is taking place in public forums, which is a good start; however, talking is the easy part

Emiliano Void

This mining for ideas within the organization through ERGs is not new. In 2015, one of Soklis’ first inclusivity initiatives was bringing Women With Drive (WWD), originally an American Cox program, to Canada. Like the BEN, it seeks similar input from women who, increasingly, can find themselves leaving an industry that can be difficult to navigate. The resulting empowerment of women is definitely a contributing factor that has made Cox a GTA (Greater Toronto Area) Top Employer for two years in a row. Void acknowledges that the two initiatives, WWD and BEN, have overlapped for some women. 

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“Black women absolutely face additional challenges as they battle both racism and sexism on a daily basis within their personal lives and professional careers,” he said. “In fact, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that an average Black woman would have to work 591 days in order to earn what an average white man does in 365. We are planning on having some joint programming with Women With Drive, which will aim to highlight and showcase our strong, proud, and successful Black female employees and raise additional awareness about this specific issue.” 

Soklis and Void point out some easily-attainable wins to overcome the lack of diversity some don’t even see, and for Soklis, that’s marketing material. “There was a lack of representation, and while it’s not intentional to do the wrong thing, changing the focus and intention is something everybody can afford to do. Signing pledges is a first step, but that quickly led to more. We had dealers respond instantly, and the time is right to move the needle.”

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Soklis is quick to acknowledge the company has only just begun to make changes. Recruiting must target more diverse groups. “Some recruiters are changing, but the message must come from the company, that we expect them to find more diverse candidates. It might take longer, or require different approaches, but we will do this.”

Void is even more pointed, wondering why 4 per cent of the population is required to request fairness and equality from the other 96 per cent. “The first step to solving a problem, is acknowledging that the problem exists,” he said. “More and more, the conversation about anti-Black and systemic racism is taking place in public forums, as well as behind closed doors, which is certainly a good start.”

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“However, talking is the easy part, and it is clear from recent events that we are far from where we need to be. I hope 2021 is a year of action that encourages more people to take bold stances against anti-Black and systemic racism in a constructive way.”

Cox is a leader in tackling difficult and controversial subjects head-on. Let’s require others in the automotive industry to follow suit.