RV Women’s Alliance Survey Shows Moderate Improvement In Women’s Representation Within The Industry

In a follow-up to a 2019 survey on women in the RV industry, the RV Women’s Alliance once again enlisted Cairn Consulting Group to survey a wide swath of the RV industry to gauge attitudes and perception about women in the RV industry.

“The results of the new survey are encouraging and show there has been modest improvement in women’s representation in the industry,” said RV Women’s Alliance President Susan Carpenter. “The results also show that while those employed in the RV industry feel there has been progress, they also see a lot of room for improvement. And that is where we at RVWA come in. Our group of women and men from across the industry are dedicated to the elevation, education, and promotion of women in our industry so that the RV industry is a place where women thrive. And it is clear from the results of this new survey that there is a recognition of the importance of women in our industry and acknowledgment of the work that still needs to be done.”

Key takeaways from the survey show staffing issues continue to be one of the greatest challenges within the industry and are likely impacting progress in attracting more women to the industry. Given the employment situation nationally, it is not surprising that RV industry is also realizing some issues in staffing, whether it’s finding or retaining staff.

However, it is worth noting that in general, some moderate improvement has been noted in overall representation of women in the industry (a net +16% more women compared to 2 years ago), which could be due at least in part to organizations who are actively seeking women applicants (66% versus 58% in 2019). This increase in actively seeking women applicants was especially strong among those in the manufacturing sector (71% versus 66% in 2019).

Results show that industry staff are most likely to say that the greatest challenge in hiring women is finding candidates who are interested in the work (62%, up from 52% in 2019) or finding qualified candidates (46%, up from 38% in 2019). These challenges are mentioned more often among those in manufacturing but are also identified among the women who participated in the survey.

About one-fourth of the women respondents say that the industry is heading in the right direction when it comes to the hiring of women, though half say that the industry is static, and not changing.

The RV Women’s Alliance will use the results of this survey to tailor our programs and resources for our members, with the goal of continuing to move the needle in making the RV industry a place where women thrive.