Auto industry still needs to be intentional about supporting women

Telva McGruder says as General Motors’ first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, she is focused on people — part of GM’s mission to become the most inclusive company in the world.  But for McGruder that’s really nothing new — it’s been her approach during her entire career. “A lot of my growth and my ultimate success has been based on my approach to people — my interest in listening and learning from them and helping them know they brought value to the company,” she says. And that, in turn, may stem from her dad. “My father worked in the auto industry, at a powertrain component factory in the Dayton area, where I grew up,” says McGruder. “He was a hard worker, and really focused on contributing to a quality product. I remember that he was consistently frustrated by people not listening to his ideas. ‘I run this machine, but they don’t ask my opinion,’ he’d say.” After McGruder earned electrical engineering bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University, did a stint at NASA and joined the auto industry, she began to understand what her dad experienced. “I learned that we had room to improve in terms of listening to people,” she says. Named GM’s first diversity, equity and inclusion officer two years ago in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the subsequent social justice movement, McGruder’s charge is expanding opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups. She says things have improved since she started as a controls engineer in manufacturing engineering more than 28 years ago.