Key Factors in how the 'Car Gal' rose to the top of GM

Another woman has joined the ranks of CEO of  a major corporation and was recently identified by President Obama during his Sate of the Union address (you may have seen her-she was in the audience). Mary Barra will succeed Daniel Akerson as CEO of General Motors. Barra started in 1980 when she was a student at the General Motors Institute. At that time, few would have ever imagined that a woman would rise so quickly to the top position and in a historically male dominated organization. There were several factors at work that catapulted her rise to CEO. Virginia Postrel (Bloomberg News) identified the factors that worked in Barra's favor:

1. Daddy Factor: Barra commented on how attitudes have changed in the last 3 decades, "You started to see an enlightening. And some people, they even say, 'My daughter just graduated from college and I want her to have these opportunities."' Her own father spent his career as an engineer in large industrial companies in the South and he observed that corporate barriers were easier for women than for blacks because white male executives could vision their own daughters as employees.

2. The Crisis Factor: Unfortunately, many women have only obtained CEO during crisis situations (think Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina at HO or Marissa Mayer at Yahoo Inc). Barra appointment came a day after the U.S. Treasury sold its remaining stock. However, even with that divestiture, GM remains "Government Motors" to many-a loser company.

3. The "Car Gal" Factor: In September 2013 Akerson told a woman's leadership conference "The Detroit Three are all run by non-car guys. Someday there will be a Detroit Three that's run by a car gal." Barra's appointment fulfills that prediction. He was predicting the return of someone steeped in car culture. Akerson himself came out of the telecom world.

Now, let's hope that Barra can overcome the "crisis factor" and bring GM to the forefront as a success. Unfortunately, women are often given an opportunity, but only when the ship is sinking!

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