Parity on Wheels

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund will hold its 13th annual Global Automotive and Energy Summit Oct. 2-4 at the MGM Grand Detroit.

The two-day conference, “Economic Parity: One Voice, One Goal,” will focus on improving diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry.

The event is the only national automotive conference designed to target minority and women’s issues.

“In 2012, we are still struggling around the inclusion of women and people of color. That’s disheartening,” says Glenda Gill, executive director of the Rainbow PUSH Automotive Project, the only national initiative targeting minority and women’s issues in the auto industry.

The summit is the culmination of the work Rainbow PUSH Automotive Project does throughout the year, which includes developing strategic partnerships and surveying companies to determine their level of ethnic inclusion and representation.

A native Detroiter, Gill advocates for people of color in the industry by creating opportunities, challenging stereotypes in advertising and holding companies accountable. 

“I never thought that I would be in this industry,” Gill says. “But I am. It's a great industry with great opportunities that could be representative of the people.”