The automotive industry has been one of the most dynamic and innovative sectors in the world for its entire history. Today, automotive companies are working to take user experiences to the next level through advanced driver assistance systems, innovation in safety technologies, connectivity, electrification, artificial intelligence, and more. Ford of Mexico recently celebrated International Women in Engineering Day on June 23, and it was an opportunity to honor Paulina Vázquez, Mechatronics Engineer and Master in Business Administration and the current Innovation Leader in the country.

Paulina, together with her team of experts in AI, data science, and technology development oversee the culture of innovation at Ford of Mexico. "Having women at the assembly plant and the corporate building, not only in the automotive industry but anywhere, opens up a completely different outlook and a creative one, due to the contribution of new ideas with different perspectives that foster disruption. Innovative working environments like the one we have at Ford of Mexico, where we focus on diversity to find the best talent, become much more creative thanks to the collective thinking that is generated, creating a much broader and more complete vision for everyone," added Marcos Pérez, Director of Product Development of Ford of Mexico.

Paulina already has three registered patents and is in the process of obtaining her fourth one. The first one was used to change the door handle of the 2015 Lincoln Continental, an adjustment that managed to completely update the way its doors open. Her second patent focused on the development of a mechanical fastening element to join two pieces that go on the roof of vehicles, achieving a much better installation than previous methods.

In addition to Paulina's contributions, in the last 5 years Ford of Mexico has registered 52 patents made by women engineers who work every day to innovate, create and improve the industry. "To me innovating is finding new and better ways of doing things, so every time my team comes up with new ideas, it fills me up with emotion knowing that we can achieve a positive impact in our products, which translates into an improvement of the users' lives. I think that the most interesting and exciting part of the process is filtering all the ideas that come to us, those that are of great quality and really practical as well as plausible to implement in our vehicles or operational process," said Paulina Vázquez, Innovation Leader at Ford of Mexico. Thanks to the innovation that Paulina and other collaborators bring to Ford of Mexico, the Ford of Mexico Engineering Center has developed a total 4,497 ideas that can be patented.