What Drives Her luncheon at #CAS19
I attended the 3rd annual What Drives Her luncheon at The Chicago Auto Show. I must say I ate well and learned a lot. Keep reading to see what I learned about women in auto.
I was excited to have attended the third What Drives Her panel and luncheon held at the Grand Concourse Media Stage inside McCormick Place. This event honors and celebrates women that play an indispensable role in the automotive industry. The What Drives Her panel and luncheon has grown has grown so fast in such a short time that it’s become known as the kick-off event for the Chicago Auto Show.
The theme of this year’s luncheon is how women in automotive are shaping its evolution. With a discussion on the different roles women play as contributors, consumers, and drivers of purchasing decisions.
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It’s great to see The Chicago Auto Show, the largest auto show in North America, welcoming women in wholeheartedly in what is traditionally a male-dominated field. TThe Chicago Auto Show partnering with A Girls Guide to Cars and Women in Automotive shows that they understand women are leading as the decision maker when it comes to car buying.
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Panel One
The first panel focused on how women are driving change in the auto industry. I found this panel very interesting. The panelist shared their journey to become leaders of their fields within the automotive industry. They spoke about how they had to work harder than their male counterparts to achieve their goals. They shared how the path their careers took was not a straight one. It was a challenging winding road in which they had to be very flexible. Many shared they were often the one woman in meetings, training classes, and the work floor.
#SeeHer initiative.
Between the first and second panel discussions the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), did a presentation on their female-focused #SeeHer initiative. As a female influencer, this was very much welcomed.
The #SeeHer initiative was launched by ANA at the United States of Women Summit in June 2016 to increase the accurate portrayal of women and girls in media. The goal is to improve the authentic representation of women by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote. To date, more than 75 companies, with a collective U.S. spend of $50 billion dollars, have joined the movement. To track progress, #SeeHer developed a data-driven methodology called the Gender Equality Measure™ (GEM™) which identifies unconscious bias in advertising and programming. Since its launch, GEM™ has become the industry’s standard metric quantifying consumer reaction to the portrayal of women in advertising and programming.
The #SeeHer movement is about showing brands how profitable inclusion can be. This initiative is one I’ll be championing. I recently wrote a post advocating for consumers to push the brands they love to be more inclusive in Should the brands we love require inclusion riders.
Panel Two
The second-panel discussion touched on on work, life and creating balance while building a career. The panelist shared the importance of knowing how juggling your career and private life. In this age where we see more women in leadership roles. Women can find it to be a struggle to separate ourselves from both when trying to do the other. One panelist said the world with keep going when we’re not there. It’s ok to step away.
All photos are from theglammom edited by FGOF or The Chicago Auto Supplied media
I ended my day ended at the Hyundai’s exhibit. Hyundai treated the guests of the luncheon to a reception where we were treated to drinks and sweet treats. During the reception, Hyundai also made a big announcement offering advancement in child safety.
Hyundai is rolling out new technology in the redesigned 2019 Santa Fe SUV. It’s could help prevent parents from leaving a child in the back seat of a hot car. This technology is called Rear Occupant Alert, Designed to alert the driver motion after the vehicle is parked and all doors are locked.
The Chicago Auto Show is taking over the McCormick Place and spanning more than 1 million square feet of production, concept and exotic vehicles in this exhibit space. The Chicago Auto Shows runs from Saturday, Feb. 9 to Monday, Feb. 18.
