Automotive women struggle to balance work and home, but could some of that tension be self-imposed? That's what Francoise Colpron, national director for French supplier Valeo's North American operations, found when she talked to female managers at her company recently. Many said they felt guilty when they left work to take care of their families.
"They said, 'Probably it's mostly us. We do it to ourselves. We feel guilty because we see how hard everybody works,'" Colpron said at a recent roundtable of leading women in the auto industry.
The recent downturn cranked up the guilt because layoffs increased the workload for employees who remained.
Perhaps improving auto sales will allow companies to hire again, leading to more balanced lives for employees, Colpron said.
It will be possible to get more insight from the women in Automotive News Europe sister publication Automotive News on Sept. 13 as part it 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry special section. For information about the special section and event, visit autonews.com/100leadingwomen.
