Name: These Are the Women Pioneering the U.S. Defense Industry
Uploaded: 2018-09-24
Duration: 5 min 9 s
Description: Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Leanne Caret, and Engility CEO Lynn Dugle share their stories.

[ MUSIC ] Most people who are alive today don't really understand how different the roles of the two genders were in society back in the 1950s. The idea of a woman being a CEO was really quite extraordinary and unusual. That will be all for now, Alice. Yes, Mr. Stone. The previous model of nothing But middle aged white males dominating the defense industry has disappeared. The thing that is strikingly different today. The number of extraordinary leaders that just happen to be women. That are leading some of the biggest defense firms in the United States. And in the world. I have the fortune of reading an amazing team in our defense. Space and security business, where we have more than 35, 000 employees focused everyday on delivering military products and readiness to our customers, globally. The job is extremely large and you know Boeing defends ranging from seabed to space. So, on any given day, I'm talking about out 55 foot autonomous, underwater submarine. Or we're having a conversation about fighters going off the carrier deck. Or if it's our Starliner, which will be docking with the International Space Station with American astronauts on board. That's a range of complexities that you have to deal with every day. [ MUSIC ] In the 1950s, and the 1960s to put it bluntly men didn't take these women very seriously, even when their performance academically was exceptional. I was the first woman in my family to go to college, so I was just kind of feeling my way. I did some research and I found out how much a school teacher made. And that wasn't going to be enough, so I said gosh, where can you come out of college and make good money, and it was engineering. Not a lot of women obviously, getting their bachelors of science back in the 80s. I know that now but it didn't strike me at the time. I mean it was just a lot of nerds in the auditorium getting their degrees. When the women who dominated the US defense sector today first entered this still just weren't very many females in engineering. It was uncommon to encounter a women in many of the classes in schools. What that meant is that they were pioneers. And the qualities that a pioneer brings to a new profession often make them exceptional later in their career, so exceptional that they are the obvious candidate to run the whole company. The weapons have never been this powerful, [ SOUND ] our share prices have never been this high. When I knew I was gonna be the CEO, and in that first day, what my intent on day one Was, I'm a student and I need to learn fast. And so, it was all about how many people can I touch? How much information can I personally absorb so I can quickly make a contribution to the organization? The first day on my job was exciting, terrifying, humbling. I had the fortune of being asked to take this role on, and to really understand that it isn't about the, about me. This, I am holding this role to help prepare us for the future. [ MUSIC ] It's probably one of the most exciting times to be in this industry that I've ever been. G minus 60 seconds and counting. People for a while were debating, is space a part of warfare? War on the ground is driven at space before then they target something they need to know where that is. So, if had Ceres disabled her assets That's the consequence, we're disabled on the ground as well. When you think about where we're going to be in just 50 short years, I think about and I like to say this for our folks, The Jetsons. Our concrete highways are gonna be replaced by space ways. And we're going to be travelling around the globe Autonomously in vehicles. Right turn, right turn! Not any one of us is ever fully prepared for the job that we take on. If we were, it was too easy, and we shouldn't have taken it. Rather, we need to always be stretching ourselves to take more risks to making certain that We can do it. Sometimes the stereotype is you got a job for a different reason than the real one, which is that you were qualified, and the fact that so many women in this community, right, not only got the jobs, but I think they did an exceptional job of it in that leadership role. I think it's really encouraging. [ MUSIC ]

These Are the Women Pioneering the U.S. Defense Industry

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Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Leanne Caret, and Engility CEO Lynn Dugle share their stories.