Celebrating Women’s History Month March 2023

A brief glance in automotive history may appear women had little influence on automobiles at all, which is not the case. For those of us at Penz Buick GMC, Women’s History Month is a time to look at women who have marked a place in our automotive industry’s history.  It stands to reason that a product so central to the lives of both genders would be influenced by both genders as well.  As we take a brief look at some of the women who propelled automotive history, we will take a look at a few of the women pioneers of automotive history.

Mary Barra GM CEO

The biggest exception to the male-dominated automotive industry is Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors.  At least since high school, Barra has lived and breathed General Motors.  At 18, she started working for General Motors inspecting fender panels and hoods as a co-op student.  She used this job to pay for her college tuition and earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Kettering University, formerly known as the General Motors Institute.   Barra went on to earn an MBA in 1990 at the Stanford School of Business on a GM fellowship.  

With her degree work behind her, Barra held both engineering and administrative positions at GM, and eventually became manager of the Hamtramck Assembly plant.  In 2008, she was tapped to become Vice President of Global Manufacturing Engineering. A year later she was VP of Global Human Resources and in 2011 she was named VP of Global Product Development.  It was during this period when GM shuttered Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer after having already retired Oldsmobile previously in the decade. When Barra took over as chief executive of General Motors in January 2014, she became the first female head of an automobile manufacturer and the only one presently. 

Emily Post

Yes, that Emily Post.  Though best known for her guides to etiquette, it may surprise many that Post was both an automotive promoter and auto journalist.  She wrote By Motor to the Golden Gates in 1916 about her trip across the country and subsequently popularized the idea of a woman being able to drive on their own. Unsurprisingly, Post’s Blue Book laid out the proper etiquette for women motorists.  One can only imagine what she would have to say about road rage.

Margaret Wilcox 

Everyone in Minnesota should be grateful for Margaret Wilcox. Born in 1838, Wilcox became a mechanical engineer when few women were even allowed to do so. Possibly inspired by Chicago winters, she developed the idea of passing air through the engine to become heated, leading to an 1893 patent for “certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Heaters.” Wilcox also received patents for baking pans, clothes washers, and a dishwasher.

Mary Anderson 

In 1903, rancher, real estate developer, and early motorist, Anderson received a U.S. patent for the first “automotive car window cleaning device controlled from inside the car.” She invented the windshield wiper.

Charlotte Bridgewood and Florence Lawrence 

With the most unexpected origin yet, Bridgewood and Lawrence respectively were mother and daughter vaudeville performers, with the latter becoming a silent film star. They enjoyed traveling by automobile whereupon Bridgewood took Mary Anderson’s invention a step further and developed the first windshield washer cleaner in 1918. For her part, Lawrence developed early precursors to vehicle stop and turn signals.

Hedy Lamarr

Best known as one of Hollywood’s most beautiful women, Lamarr was also a math genius and inventor. She created the concept of “frequency hopping,” originally to improve Navy torpedo performance during WWII, but is also the underlying basis for cellphone technology, including the 5G systems that are the foundation for autonomous vehicle technology. Lamarr also drew up plans for improved stoplights.

The women mentioned here are only a select few, of many other influential women engineers, designers, journalists, and executives who help make the automotive industry the innovative, sophisticated, and diverse entity it is today. At Penz Buick GMC, we take pride and appreciate the contributions women have made to the automotive industry and hope we all see today’s automobile as a product of the combined thinking of both genders. Unsure of your perfect vehicle fit? Speak with any of our Buick GMC of Rochester Representatives to match you with the perfect Buick GMC for your new and new-to-you adventure. Whether new or CPO, Penz Buick GMC is also your one-stop shop for all your vehicle’s service, parts, detailing, and accessories.