The 'extra oomph' that changed GM

When Dan Akerson became General Motors' CEO in September 2010, he was surprised to find one of the company's top talents hidden away in human resources.

HR isn't usually a stopping point for executives being groomed to be CEO, especially of a large manufacturing company. It's a technical job that requires a fair amount of compliance and compensation expertise.

But that's the department Mary Barra was leading when Akerson arrived, despite her background in engineering, running an assembly plant, product development and supply chain management.

"I don't mean to diminish HR, but generally, you don't get to the corner office by being in human resources," Akerson said.

And so, he set Barra on a path to figure out whether she was capable of handling the CEO job. He put her in charge of global product development, purchasing and supply chain. Akerson said he wanted to see whether she could rise to the challenge.

She did.

"In my mind, she was the clear choice," Akerson said. "Some of the reaction was, 'Gee, that's a very politically correct choice.' It was not PC. It was black and white. Mary Barra was far and away the best choice for the job at the time."

In the Automotive News Project XX Survey, many women said Barra has been an inspiration.

"She has kind of shattered that glass ceiling," said Kelsey Kruzel, social media manager for CDK Global. "Just being able to see women in that position is really encouraging and motivating, on the grand scheme."

But many also noted that there is still a dearth of females in leadership roles, and that makes women feel like there isn't a clear path to the top for them.

Akerson told Automotive News this month that he started thinking seriously about women in the work force after his mother got a job at a Piggly Wiggly supermarket in southern Minnesota. She worked hard and rose to the job of assistant manager, he recalls. But at her funeral, her boss — a young, male store manager — told Akerson that his mother had been talented enough to run the store, if only she had been born in a later generation, when her gender wouldn't have held her back.

Since then, Akerson says, he's taken note when he sees women and minorities bump up against the glass ceiling.

"It's a cliche, but there's no question that there is a glass ceiling," he said. "People are prepared to see women and minorities get to a certain level, but then there's that kind of age-old, backward-looking perspective."

He has tried to counteract those beliefs by giving people a chance if they want to take it. He has put people in big jobs with big challenges and given them the opportunity to succeed or fail.

"That's all anybody wants is a chance to prove themselves on straight merit," he said. "You take gambles, and you see if they can grow. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

Barra declined to talk to Automotive News for this project, but in an interview with Yahoo Autos in 2015, she said she always wanted to be judged on her abilities and not on her gender.

"I never want to get a job because I'm female," she said. "I want to get it because I earned it and I deserve it. ... Whether my hair is going to be blue or purple, people should be judged on how well they do the job and deliver results and whether they do it the right way. That's how I like to be judged. Most people are like that."

Many of the respondents to Project XX said they believe the automakers are ahead of the rest of the industry in promoting women. Most automakers and many of the large suppliers and dealer networks have women's leadership groups, which help women form professional networks.

"After Mary Barra took over and started to clean house — with the old school with the silos and the old-boy network — you see those walls starting to come down," said Mary Beth Kaminski, senior manufacturing engineer at GM. "I was eager to be a part of what she was starting here. This company is probably a bellwether for the industry, at least on the American side."

Akerson said he believes GM already was doing well with promoting women when he took over as CEO in 2010. At that time, about 30 percent of all plant managers were women.

"GM was about as forward-looking and positive and constructive on fairness in the workplace, but I think they needed a little extra oomph to get it over the top," he said.

His advice to companies that want to excel in this area? Focus on making sure you have a diverse executive base, and give everyone a chance to take big risks.

"It can't be lip service about how you develop your talent," Akerson said. "It can't be about just checking a box. You have to recognize that half the people on the planet are women, and they are just as smart, and sometimes smarter, than men."