A WOMAN'S TOUCH
While the glass ceiling hasn't been fully shattered in the auto industry as yet, it certainly has been getting more and more cracks as an increasing number of women have been achieving top level positions in many areas, such as Anne Asensio who became the Director of brand Character Development at General Motors in October 2000; Josephine Cooper, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Washington; and Martha Brooks, Vice President and General manager of Cummins Engine Co., Inc's truck and bus engine business, etc.
Not only are women gaining more power as automotive consumers, they are becoming more and more influential in developing what those consumers will be buying .
"The opportunities are endless. The potential to make a difference is huge", stated Janine Bray of Ford Motor Co., who considers one of her greatest achievements the launching of the 1993 Mustang.
Named as one of the 100 most influential women in the Industry in 2000 by Automotive News, Janine's first job was as a paint chemist at Celanese Corp. in 1974, followed by a stint as product design engineer, body engineering at Ford from 1976-1984. She has also served as Manager of special vehicle engineering, Manager of vehicle durability development analysis and control; vehicle line Director and Director of export and emerging markets, as well as alternative fuel vehicles, and Director of vehicle personalization.
Other female Ford success stories include Julie Dils, a prototype planning supervisor who has been instrumental in developing Ford's "pregnancy friendly" interior designs in such vehicles as the 2004 Monterey minivan, which goes on sale in September; and Diane Allen, who began her own automotive career as an intern in their advanced design department, working on the exterior of the Probe series in 1983.
From there, Ms Allen went to work as a designer at Nissan Design International, before becoming chief designer for Nissan's Red Studio in 1996. Diane's creativity can also be seen in such programs as the second generation Altima and Quest minivan.
