Matt Lauer Asked the Wrong Damn Question to the CEO of General Motors

By Dustin Rowles | Industry | June 27, 2014 |

The following exchange took place between on the Today show yesterday between Matt Lauer and General Motors CEO Mary Barra:

LAUER: You’re a mom, I mentioned, two kids. You said in an interview not long ago that your kids told you they’re going to hold you accountable for one job and that is being a mom. BARRA: Correct. (smiling.) LAUER: Given the pressures of this job at General Motors, can you do both well? BARRA: You know, I think I can. I have a great team, we’re on the right path…I have a wonderful family, a supportive husband and I’m pretty proud of the way my kids are supporting me in this.

Lauer later asked if Barra managed to secure the job because she was a Mom.

I want to tread lightly here. You’ve heard this, you heard it in Congress. You got this job because you’re hugely qualified, 30 years in this company a variety of different jobs. But some people are speculating that you also got this job because as a woman and as a mom because people within General Motors knew this company was in for a very tough time and as a woman and a mom you could present a softer image and softer face for this company as it goes through this horrible episode. Does it make sense or does it make you bristle?

Don’t worry! There’s an easy explanation for this, folks. Matt Lauer got trapped in a time warp and thrown back into the 1950s, where the notion that a woman could rise up through the ranks after DECADES of work for the same company and take over the leadership position didn’t exist. Or where things like rampant recalls didn’t exist at GM, because the company knew how to make a goddamn car that didn’t fall apart and threaten the lives of its passengers.

Because surely in the 2010s, Lauer wouldn’t ask Mary Barra what kind of mother she was. He’d ask her the same thing he’d ask a male CEO with two children, namely: What kind of motherfucking shitbox company are you running over there, why do your crappy cars keeping falling apart, and are you going to fix these problems, or is GM going to have fire your ass and bring someone else in who can do the job better? HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE, MARY? Also, why would you name a car a Chevrolet Cruze? Was it your idea to spell Cruise with a Z or did a six year old come up with that?

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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