"Why Are You Always the Only Woman Looking at the Cars?”

You have to understand my family, they really appreciate a good car photo. Especially when that car is a Mustang. And even more when it is a Shelby. So it was pretty natural for me to snap this picture of a beautiful 1967 Shelby GT500 when in Traverse City at Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars and send it off to my parents.

What was most interesting was my mom’s response: “Why are you always the only woman looking at the cars?”

I’ve been so happy to see the rise in women in the automotive and mobility industry, especially the jump in those with public facing roles. Early on in my career I was always alone in a sea of men at industry events and now that the audience is becoming much more balanced.

But my mom is right. Although there are women there, at events I still find myself to drawn away from the action to really look at and appreciate the vehicles, usually alone.

Why is that?