{"id":1408,"date":"2023-03-10T19:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T19:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?p=1408"},"modified":"2023-03-15T18:54:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T18:54:48","slug":"ford-does-womens-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Ford Does Women’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In honor of International Women\u2019s Day, the Ford Motor Company has introduced a rather unconventional marketing campaign which is creating a bit of a buzz. The 30-second commercial, narrated by Brian Cranston of Breaking Bad fame, introduces the Ford Explorer Men\u2019s Only Edition<\/a> as a completely reimagined vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Gladys West, contributor to the development of the Global Positioning System [GPS]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Although the advertisement appears to be fairly typical, with running footage of a shiny black vehicle driving down winding roads, it soon takes an unexpected turn. For the special men\u2019s edition is lacking a few important parts, notably windshield wipers, turn signals, a rearview mirror, brake lights, heaters, and GPS, innovations that were, in fact, developed by women. As a nod to women working in automotive industry Ford takes this opportunity to bring attention to the invisible female inventors, engineers, and designers over the past century who have made important contributions to the automobile. As the company website<\/a> notes, \u2018to support the campaign throughout the month, Ford will highlight the achievements and contributions of female innovators of the past and present on Ford.com and across the company\u2019s social media accounts.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ford campaign has made headlines in both the general and automotive press. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Auto journalists refer to the campaign as humorous, tongue-in-cheek, and clever. Many of the articles bring attention to the women responsible for these contributions, including Hedy Lamarr<\/a>, Florence Lawrence<\/a>, Dorothy Levitt<\/a>, Dorothee Pullinger<\/a>, and Dr. Gladys West<\/a>. Women in particular<\/a> are charmed by the commercial, referring to it as \u201810\/10 advertisement,\u2019 \u2018perfection,\u2019 and \u2018makes me even more proud to be a Ford owner.\u2019 As a former advertising person myself, I applaud the Ford ad agency that created a commercial that is not only creative, memorable, and fun, but one that celebrates women without disparaging men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mary Anderson<\/a>, inventor of the first practical windshield wiper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, not all who viewed this advertisement are pleased. The comment sections on many of the news sites are filled with complaints from those offended, with remarks that suggest the advertisement somehow threatens one’s masculinity. The posts include the unoriginal and expected \u2018what is Ford doing for International Men\u2019s Day?\u2019, as well as many that engage in tired gender stereotypes, such as \u2018the woman\u2019s only version would only be a small pile of useless parts,\u2019 and \u2018since a man invented the internal combustion engine, I\u2019m guessing the women\u2019s addition [sic] would be a static display.\u2019 Some argue that Ford got its facts wrong, with the claim, \u2018all of the things mentioned were actually invented by men years before.\u2019 Other individuals go further, admonishing the auto manufacturer for its wokeness and \u2018confused\u2019 sexual identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hedy Lamarr, innovator of the communication system used in cellular technology, Wi-Fi and GPS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Certainly the comments reflect convoluted logic and a lack of critical thinking, investing in the notion that praising women\u2019s achievements somehow discredits men. Yet what is most troubling in these remarks is the culture they represent. The association between masculinity and the automobile has a long and entrenched history. In the early auto age, in order to perpetuate this \u2018natural\u2019 relationship between man and his machine, it became necessity to frame women as poor drivers, mentally incompetent, and technologically ignorant. While the \u2018woman driver\u2019 stereotype was developed nearly a century ago to degrade women\u2019s driving ability and automotive competence, the barrage of negative comments incited by a 30 second car commercial suggest such beliefs remain common among a significant [male] population nearly 100 years later. This is worrisome for an individual interested in pursuing an automotive related career. It suggests that the automotive culture remains unwelcoming to women no matter the credentials, work ethic, or job performance. It intimates that despite the efforts within the automotive industry to address the underrepresentation of women, there is still a significant group within it that considers women as less. The sexist commentary not only brings renewed attention to the incredible obstacles faced by women in the automotive industry a century ago, but reveals that in the twenty-first century, many of those barriers stubbornly remain. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dr. Cynthia Flanigan<\/a> – Chief Engineer, Hardware Integration in Vehicle Hardware Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ford is to be commended for celebrating women\u2019s automotive achievements in this clever and thought-provoking ad. It provides the opportunity for all of us who drive \u2013 men and women alike –  to appreciate and respect the automotive innovations contributed by women in a historically male-dominated industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of International Women\u2019s Day, the Ford Motor Company has introduced a rather unconventional marketing campaign which is creating a bit of a buzz. The 30-second commercial, narrated by Brian Cranston of Breaking Bad fame, introduces the Ford Explorer Men\u2019s Only Edition as a completely reimagined vehicle.  Although the advertisement appears to be fairly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,44],"tags":[50,43,17],"class_list":["post-1408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-industry","category-car-chicks","tag-automotive-brands","tag-automotive-history","tag-car-advertising"],"yoast_head":"\nFord Does Women's Day - Women & Cars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ford Does Women's Day - Women & Cars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Women & Cars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Lezotte\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Lezotte\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Lezotte\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f\"},\"headline\":\"Ford Does Women’s Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\"},\"wordCount\":758,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"automotive brands\",\"automotive history\",\"car advertising\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Auto Industry\",\"Car Chicks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\",\"name\":\"Ford Does Women's Day - Women & Cars\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":875},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ford Does Women’s Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Women & Cars\",\"description\":\"Writing. Research. Scholarship.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f\",\"name\":\"Chris Lezotte\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9689dfb76e1c5d71173b456192ba87dae7ff167d0e831a8c5f1be250157654f?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9689dfb76e1c5d71173b456192ba87dae7ff167d0e831a8c5f1be250157654f?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Lezotte\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Chris Lezotte PhD is an independent scholar whose research focuses on the relationship between women and cars.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lezotte-51b895ba\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ford Does Women's Day - Women & Cars","description":"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ford Does Women's Day - Women & Cars","og_description":"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry","og_url":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/","og_site_name":"Women & Cars","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte","article_published_time":"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Chris Lezotte","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Lezotte","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Lezotte","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f"},"headline":"Ford Does Women’s Day","datePublished":"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/"},"wordCount":758,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg","keywords":["automotive brands","automotive history","car advertising"],"articleSection":["Auto Industry","Car Chicks"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/","url":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/","name":"Ford Does Women's Day - Women & Cars","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-10T19:39:19+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-15T18:54:48+00:00","description":"Negative commentary can't block the achievements of women in the auto industry","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2228.jpg","width":700,"height":875},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/auto-industry\/ford-does-womens-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ford Does Women’s Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/","name":"Women & Cars","description":"Writing. Research. Scholarship.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/b510f9e6fac5a76e9293d63b0026cd9f","name":"Chris Lezotte","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9689dfb76e1c5d71173b456192ba87dae7ff167d0e831a8c5f1be250157654f?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9689dfb76e1c5d71173b456192ba87dae7ff167d0e831a8c5f1be250157654f?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Chris Lezotte"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Chris Lezotte PhD is an independent scholar whose research focuses on the relationship between women and cars.","sameAs":["http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chris.lezotte","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lezotte-51b895ba\/"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1408"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1420,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions\/1420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chrislezotte.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}