‘There’s no other retail experience where women enter such a male dominated space.’

This is according to research published by Car Dealer Magazine, which shows that 78% of buyers, out of their pool of 3000 people surveyed, believe women are underrepresented in the vehicle sales process and retail showrooms.

And while we don’t claim to have all the answers, at Vanparison we want to do more to help change that.

We know that leasing a vehicle is a huge financial commitment, second only to buying a home, and there can be a lot of anxiety surrounding that. 

The age-old stereotype of the industry doesn’t help matters, with the motor world still, in 2023, being a male-dominated place. We’re proud that our business bucks the trend, with 41% of our company identifying as female, compared with an industry average of 20%.

This gives us the opportunity to introduce a new trial, where if it feels more comfortable for you, you can request to speak to a female member of our sales team through our website contact forms.

This trial will run from 1 April 2023 until 31 June 2023, with the potential to extend the scheme to all communication channels thereafter.

This is our way of doing something to change Car Dealer's shocking statistic, as well as being part of our wider aim to make Vanparison a more inclusive place so everyone can feel comfortable when leasing their next van.

Vanparison team

Our whole team, regardless of gender, will always treat every single person who contacts us with the same consultative care that makes us stand out in the industry. 

However, despite the reality we benefit from seeing every day on our sales floor, we know it will take time to break down barriers for those who currently feel let down by and left out of the van leasing process.

If you select this new option during the trial, we guarantee you will be contacted by a female member of our sales team.

However, consistent with our long-standing company policy, behaviour we deem to be abusive, discriminatory or ill-intended through any interaction with us will not be tolerated.

It’s our hope that this trial helps people who may have been anxious or nervous about getting in touch in the past, and takes a small step towards making sure no-one is excluded from the van leasing process.

We know there is more to do, but our commitment is to continue to review and evolve our ways of working to ensure wider inclusivity and accessibility in our industry and our business.