Who Thought Engineering Could be So Cool? Actually, We Did

Any movement that gets people talking about engineering is positive, so I’ve been enjoying the #ILookLikeAnEngineer conversation about the increasingly diverse face of engineering. In fact, I joined the conversation last week to highlight GM’s nearly 37,000 engineers from all corners of the world. Their expertise and diverse perspectives are helping us transform the future of transportation.

Thanks to a stronger emphasis on STEM education, school robotics competitions, scholarships and mentoring programs, far more women pursue engineering today than when I began my career. That’s real progress. And while I have always believed high-quality performance and a solid work ethic say more about an engineer than gender, there is still an opportunity to cultivate diversity in our industry and, as we’ve learned on Twitter, so many others.

In the auto sector, I’ve often said STEM professionals will win the technology race. The opportunities for engineers – male and female – to make an impact on the future of our industry have never been more exciting. When you consider a typical car comprises 30,000 individual parts, integrating those parts into cohesive systems with industry-leading safety, quality, efficiency and connectivity takes the very best talent.

I see creativity and innovation converge every day – in the development of our electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and enhanced connectivity. Recently, our engineers enabled 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, and now in many of our cars, trucks and crossovers customers can seamlessly integrate their smartphones. And, last month at our Michigan proving ground, our active safety engineers demonstrated GM’s global road map to a world with no crashes.

Case in point: In less than two years we will start connecting cars with each other using vehicle-to-vehicle technology, or V2V, and looking ahead vehicles will also have the capability to communicate with the world around them using vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, or V2X. It’s real, and it can change the game for safety, traffic congestion and even for our environment. After all, at its very core, engineering is about improving people’s lives.

I hope #ILookLikeAnEngineer will energize the engineering community and encourage women and men to join us. Bring your skills and a desire to change the world – or at least how we travel it.