Buick Has the Highest Percentage of Female Buyers in the US
According to a new IHS Markit study, Buick currently has a higher share of female buyers than any other automaker in the United States. The study discovered that women account for 56.1 percent of all Buick buyers. The Buick SUV Lineup: Check out the different family haulers Why is Buick popular among female buyers? Marc […]
Dr. Debbie Mielewski Becomes First Female Ford Technical Fellow
Dr. Debbie Mielewski capped off 2020 on a historic note, becoming the first woman named a Ford technical fellow. Not only is Mielewski the first woman to earn the distinction, she’s also Ford’s first technical fellow for sustainability. Ford Focuses on Going Green: New F-150 adds efficient yet capable PowerBoost Full Hybrid V6 Dr. Mielewski […]
Number of Female Mechanics and Drivers at All-Time High
While we can argue about gender equality in the workplace for hours, there’s no denying that women are becoming more prevalent in professional spaces. We’re not just talking about offices or stores, either. According to the U.S. Labor Department, women in blue-collar jobs is at a 25-year high. Some of the fields leading the way […]
Adrienne Bennett, Michigan’s First Female Plumber, Working on Michigan Central Station Restoration
Adrienne Bennett has at least two honorable distinctions under her toolbelt: She’s the first woman in the history of the state of Michigan to complete a plumbing apprenticeship program, and she’s the first Black woman in American history to earn licenses as a Master Plumber, Plumbing Contractor, Plumbing Inspector, and Certified Medical Gas Inspector and […]
Leadfoot Ladies: Formula E Brings Female Drivers to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is on our radar here at The News Wheel particularly where it comes to women driving, as the country only very recently conceded that maybe, possibly, in general, having a uterus shouldn’t ban you from driving. Now, though, it seems that Formula E, the all-electric open-wheel racing series, is joining in to bring […]
Female Professionals Take Auto Design Industry by Storm
More institutions with design programs are seeing in increase in female students. For instance, the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, has marked a 25 percent increase in the number of women enrolled in its transportation design programs compared with just seven years ago. Executive director of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Chris Livaudais, estimates that […]
Some Lingering Obstacles for Saudi Females Who Want to Get a Driver’s License
Although the driving ban for Saudi Arabian women was lifted back in June, there’s still quite a few obstacles these women face as they take advantage of their recently gained freedom. Current obstacles According to Kerry McLaren, head of Omnibus, only 24 percent of women have applied for a driver’s license. However, that means about […]
Meet Dubai’s All-Female SuperCar Club: Arabian Gazelles
If you mention “Arabian gazelles,” you might conjure images of this nimble-footed deer in your listeners’ minds. However, if your listeners have been keeping up with Dubai news, that phrase might spark a discussion about the region’s first female supercar club in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Arabian Gazelles is empowering women while transforming the auto […]
Female Taxi Drivers Take to the Road in Saudi Arabia
While we all want to believe that the Saudi Arabian government allowed women to drive because it realized it was wrong to deny them the right, it’s pretty common knowledge that it was motivated by economic pressure. Giving women driver’s licenses not only makes them look more progressive to trade partners, but it also opens […]
Why is Saudi Arabia Jailing Female Driving Activists?
The magical date of Jun. 24 is almost here. What makes it so special, you ask? Why, that’s the date when Saudi Arabian women can officially get behind the wheel of a car in their own country. That sounds very exciting, until you realize that the government is jailing and ostracizing many of the women […]
Dhivya Suryadevara Will Be GM’s First Female CFO
She'll replace Chuck Stevens, who's retiring after 40 years of service
General Motors is getting a new chief financial officer, and she’ll be the first woman to serve the company in that position. Dhivya Suryadevara has been appointed as executive vice president and CFO, effective Sept. 1. She’ll report to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, who became the first female automaker CEO in 2014. Suryadevara […]
Chevy Extends 24/7 Roadside Assistance to Support Saudi Female Drivers
On June 24, the Saudi Arabian government will lift the ban on females driving cars. As a result, Chevy is extending its 24/7 roadside assistance program to Saudi women behind the wheel. The initiative kicks off on June 24 and will continue for eight weeks. Chevy will offer the program to any Saudi woman regardless of […]
Leadfoot Ladies: Remembering Gertrude Jeannette, New York City’s First Licensed Female Cab Driver
In 1942, Gertrude Jeannette — an African-American woman from Arkansas — sat down behind the wheel of a cab as the first licensed female taxi driver in New York City. According to her obituary in The New York Times, Gertrude responded to an advertisement in the local paper for female cab drivers. Many male cab drivers had […]
Diane Sawyer Talks to Female Truck Drivers About Sexual Harassment and Assault on the Road
The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have dominated a lot of the national conversation over the last few months. Women and men are standing up and speaking up, saying that the time is up for sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. According to The New York Times, 85 percent of women and 43 percent of men […]
More Model Diversity and an Increase in Female Vehicle Owners in the UK
In the UK, there are 21% of female vehicle owners and 10% more male ones now than there were a decade ago, according to statistics from Motorparc, an analysis department of Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT). This same entity also indicated a plethora of other trends in the region. For instance, there’s a […]
Aurora Straus Defers Harvard Admission to Become America’s Only Professional Female Teenage Race Car Driver
Pursuing your dreams is an important part of being young, and it takes a lot of bravery to step back and make those big decisions for yourself. 19-year-old professional race car driver Aurora Straus has decided to put her admission to Harvard on hold while she dedicates the next year of her life to racing […]
Will Automakers Get Rid of Female Models at Auto Shows in the Wake of the #MeToo Movement?
Thanks to the #MeToo movement, women are speaking up more and more about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault in the workplace and elsewhere. Companies across the globe are changing their practices, including those in automotive. Over the last few months, we’ve seen several effects of the #MeToo movement in automotive. Top executives have been […]
Exclusive Interview: Michigan State Senate Candidate Mallory McMorrow on Sexism and Female Representation in Automotive
At a convention in Detroit last fall, I had the privilege of attending a panel on female empowerment led by Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for the Michigan State Senate. I was captivated by the stories Mallory had to tell, including her experiences with sexism while working in the automotive industry while presenting with Mazda at […]