Why does Volvo have a male symbol in their logo?

The Volvo logo is based on the ancient chemical symbol for iron (a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right). In Western culture, the symbol originally represented the planet Mars (the Roman God of War) in the Roman Empire and, as the questioner has already identified, the masculine gender. Because of all this, an early link was established between the Mars symbol and the metal from which most weapons were made at the time - iron. Thus, the icon has long been the symbol of the iron industry and all that it stands for: steel, strength, safety, quality and durability. When Volvo started using the symbol as part of its badge in 1927, the logotype was complemented with a diagonal band running across the radiator. This was originally needed to keep the chrome badge in place but it gradually developed as more of a decorative symbol.