GROWING POWER AND INFLUENCE OF WOMEN IN WHAT WAS ONCE SEEN AS A ‘MAN’S WORLD’
In fundamental physics, Newton’s Third Law (Action and Reaction) states that for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. Well, okay, that law must only apply to inanimate objects devoid of intelligence nor emotions. When you put in the human factor, specifically gender interactions, things get much more complicated, and opposite sexes aren’t always “opposing forces.”
As a motoring reporter embedded in the industry for nearly three decades, I’ve been witness to the slow yet steady growth of women’s roles in the industry.
In 2012, as I was on a solo tour of Europe visiting automobile museums, I bought this book at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. That book caught my eye because of its pink cover, and the title that read “Porsche Ladies.”
Here’s a direct quote taken from that book: “To many people, it’s indisputable: A Porsche is a man’s car. First, a favorite toy of every little boy and later a dream car and status symbol for the male sports car fan. Or maybe not? Many women see things differently—thankfully! Because they like sports cars too and take great pleasure in driving a Porsche. After all, 16 percent of the roughly 80,000 purchasers of new Porsches during the 2008/09 fiscal year were women. That’s not counting the lucky ladies who could delight in the gift of a Porsche. Without women, the Porsche brand would not be what it is today. Over the last six decades, female customers, race drivers and employees have greatly helped give the brand its singular image.”
By itself, that passage, by whomever wrote that (the book credits no author) encapsulates the emerging role of women in what has been predominantly a man’s world. It also somehow validated the “lonely” work I was doing for my newspaper outfit (“lonely” because I was the only female staff writer of the section, and also because I was literally on my own during this month-long seven-nation European tour).
It turns out, I haven’t been alone in the “opposite sex” movement. For example, in F1, the pinnacle of motorsports, Hannah Schmitz is team Red Bull’s principal strategy engineer. Rosie Wait is head of strategy over at Mercedes.
On the technology side, there’s Detroit-based Djoana C. Geopano Wheeler, a Filipina senior design release engineer who has been assigned to develop and install the highand low-voltage wire harnesses of the Hummer EV. I was fortunate enough to interview her in 2020.
The power of the purse is also shifting in a major way. According to Forbes and Edmunds
reports in 2019, women now buy more cars than men in some parts of the world, most notably in the United States, where women buy 62 percent of all new cars sold and influence more than 85 percent of all car purchases. Here in the Philippines, a JD Power study showed that in 2016, 45 percent of car purchases were made by women, up from 31 percent in 2013.
More women now also have a say in car awards. Just recently, I received a news release announcing that the Ford Ranger was officially chosen the “Best 4x4 and Pickup” by Women’s World Car of the Year, whose jury is composed of 63 women motoring journalists from 45 countries across five continents. Vehicles across six categories were assessed for safety, driving, comfort, technology, design, efficiency, impact on the environment, and value for money.
In the corporate world, more high-level executives are women who take an active, leading role in the policymaking and business decisions processes of multinational automobile companies. There’s Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo—president and CEO of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors—who has lived her life true to her name Fe, which in chemistry is the symbol for iron, the element of strength, and in Spanish means “faith (in God’s purpose).”
There’s also Elizabeth H. Lee, who at one time was the president of the country’s largest auto industry association, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Association of the Philippines.
I must also mention other top-level industry leaders such as Ginia Domingo (president and GM of Pilipinas Autogroup), Maricar Cristobal Parco (brand head for Peugeot, Astara Philippines), and Ma. Cristina Fe Arevalo (president and CEO of Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines Inc). Just this Monday, I read from AutoIndustriya that the next president of Honda Cars Philippines Inc would be a female Japanese executive, the first lady president of a Japanese automobile company in the country. HCPI, however, has yet to issue an official statement to confirm this.
I must also recognize the valuable work that veteran automotive journalists such as Aida Sevilla Mendoza and Pinky Concha Colmenares have put in. And, also, veteran auto show organizer Sophie Delos Santos.
Then there are the growing women drivers and technicians who put in the fieldwork and grunt work. I’ve had the honor of interviewing such hard workers like car technician Eve Joring, who has had to carry the heavy stuff in a machine shop and work as fast as her male counterparts, and ambulance driver Linnet Ryzel, Philippine Red Cross’ chapter service representative of safety service in Tacloban.
Yes, the automotive industry may still be considered a man’s world. But every day that goes by, we women are taking a bigger part in making that world go round.