I was reading the comments on an article about electric vehicles — yeah, I know: Never read the comments! — when I saw one from a person whinging that the article was written by a woman. "Women aren't into cars," the commenter said.
So... we're still at that level?
The article was about Ford's electric F-150, which happens to have a woman, Linda Zhang, as its chief engineer.
Shortly before reading that story, I'd listened to a report about a majority-female pit crew whose team won a spot at the Indy 500 race.
Look, we shouldn't still be in a place where women are seen as an unexpected presence on shop floors, design studios, materials labs or corner offices. But yet we are.
That's why Plastics News' Women Breaking the Mold special report each year — and a networking conference — continues to be important. Too often we're still seen as an exception, rather than a regular part of the workforce at every level.
Now it's time to recognize women who are leaders in the plastics industry, whether in offices or on shop floors. This requires women themselves to speak up.
We're looking for nominations for the class of 2021 for Women Breaking the Mold. You can nominate someone you know, or nominate yourself.
We're asking for some basic background information as well as some insight as to what molds you're breaking.
We'll use responses to the nomination form to help shape editorial coverage. Features on this year's Women Breaking the Mold will go into the July 26 issue of Plastics News.
The deadline for submissions is June 21. Go to www.plasticsnews.com/wbmsurvey to start your nomination.
