March 8th marks International Women’s Day and a chance for us to reflect on our values as a company. Balance drives a better working world, which is the theme for International Women’s Day 2019. At AGP, we too value that balance as a company, promoting meritocracy; that opportunities are given based on merit and not ethnicity, age, gender, or background. The future of mobility belongs to both women and men who want to enter the world of high-tech automotive glazing to become part of any area of our organization. From manufacturing to management, we retain the best talent for the job.

We sat down this morning with Carolina Montaño¹, AGP’s U.S. Market Program Manager, to talk about her experiences at AGP and the meaning of International Women’s Day.

Carolina has worked in the automotive glazing industry for over ten years, and when asked about her journey, she said, “I am very passionate about AGP! As an engineer, I am learning all the time, being challenged every day and developing problem-solving techniques (on several dimensions) every minute. AGP is a constant understanding of what a “reality distortion field” is.”

After discussing her adventures at AGP, we began talking about the challenges and growth of women in the automotive industry. To this, Carolina said, “The automotive industry is still a predominantly male-led industry, which is why I celebrate every woman in the world that has been able to achieve high and strategic positions in automotive companies. As a woman, you need to be smart and strong to gain the confidence of your team and still be able to use a balance of power and skills to get the best result. It is tricky but is possible! It is important to mention that during my 10 years at AGP, I have been exposed to open-minded men who have been my coaches during this journey”.

On the topic of International Women’s day, Carolina believes that, “This is a very important day, however, to me, women’s day is every day! Every day you should remember how strong you are, recognizing that 100% equality is still a challenge and that every day you can do something to contribute to furthering the balance. Having said that, I want to highlight the growth women have already achieved in this industry just in the past few years!”

We asked Carolina what advice she would give to women who are considering a career in the automotive industry, and she said, “Preparation is key, looking for balance is important, but being yourself is what will allow you to conquer!”.

In order to tackle and innovate today’s biggest transportation, mobility and automotive questions, AGP recognizes that we need a diverse workforce. Our AGP family includes men and women in both technical and managerial positions and we hope to see more women in technology year over year!

Carolina is a chemical engineer with a Masters in Science (MSc) in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in polymeric materials and an MBA in Project Management.