Women in Manufacturing “She was the right person for the job.”

I recently attended a Women in Manufacturing luncheon featuring a panel discussion by female automotive leaders. The panelists included Anita Burke, the Vehicle Chief Engineer for the 2015 GMC Canyon, as well as Marcy Klevorn, Director of the Office of CIO for Ford Motor Company, and two other dynamic women from Nissan.

The panelists were asked various questions about their success and recommendations for other women who have chosen the automotive manufacturing business for their career paths. One of the questions posed by the moderator, Dave Versical of Automotive News was ” When you learned that Mary Barro was chosen as General Motors CEO, the first female ever in such a role, what was your reaction?”  Without hesitation, Anita Burke said “She was the right person for the job.”

This lead to further discussion about all the buzz surrounding the women who break the steel ceiling (vs. glass ceiling) in their careers. The sentiment of the female leaders in the room, and echoed Marcy was that we look forward to the day when women who achieve great things in their careers are applauded for accomplishments, not discussed because they are females who have attained these roles.

At Pioneer Service, we also feel strongly about discussing our history of quality parts and outstanding service with prospective customers instead leading with our helpful, but not as meaningful woman-owned business status. Since 1992, Pioneer Service has been owned and lead by a dynamic leader in her own right, Aneesa Muthana. Her passion for excellence permeates every part of the organization. In 2012 she became WBE certified as a service to customers, such as those in the automotive business, who have supplier diversity goals set by the OEM’s. However, Pioneer Service will always strive outshine the competition by providing the quality machined parts, on time, every time with the service that makes doing business with us a delight.