Women in Leadership: Why I Built Drive Her Forward

My Journey in the Automotive Industry

I grew up in the automotive industry, surrounded by ambition, hard work, and the steady rhythm of tools and engines. My childhood was spent in dealership showrooms and service departments, filled with the smell of motor oil and the sound of men talking shop.

Men surrounded me. That was my normal, and to be clear, it wasn’t a bad thing. Many of those men mentored me, believed in me, and taught me invaluable lessons about life and business. I still admire them deeply.

But what I was missing was a woman I could look up to. From a young age, I craved a female mentor in leadership, someone who reflected what I wanted to become. Every time I got the school assignment asking, “Who is your hero?” I came up empty. Not because great women didn’t exist, but because I couldn’t find one who lived and led in a way that matched the fire inside me.

That realization became the seed for Drive Her Forward, a women’s leadership platform created to help women in leadership lead with confidence and ownership.

The Missing Female Mentor in Leadership

Over the years, I tried to put several women on a pedestal, but none fit the mold of who I wanted to become. I longed for female mentorship, a woman who could model success without sacrificing authenticity. Some seemed to compromise too much of themselves to succeed; others led in ways that didn’t resonate with me.

So, I built my career without a clear role model, discovering my own lessons through trial and error. After more than two decades in the automotive industry, I learned that there wasn’t a roadmap for women navigating leadership in a male-dominated space.

Here’s what that journey taught me, lessons many women learn the hard way:

• Being overlooked chips away at your confidence.
  
• Being underestimated forces you to overprepare.
  
• Silence can cost you opportunities.
  
• The higher you rise, the lonelier it can feel.
  

My female leadership journey was full of breakthroughs and bruises. I learned that confidence isn’t handed to women; it’s built through resilience and ownership.

The Hidden Pressure Women in Leadership Face

When you’re one of the few women in the room, you carry more than your own ambition. You carry the unspoken responsibility to prove what women are capable of. And if you fail, you fear it won’t just be about you; it’ll be used as a reason to doubt the next woman.

Many women in leadership feel they must prove their worth before they’re taken seriously. That pressure is exhausting. One of the biggest leadership challenges for women is proving worth in male-dominated spaces.

Like so many others, I searched everywhere for answers. I read every leadership and self-help book, attended every women leadership program I could find, hoping one would finally speak to my experience as a woman in leadership. Some did, but most left me more discouraged. They felt too general, too idealistic, too disconnected from real-world challenges.

I attended female networking events, hoping for authentic connection and mentorship. Instead, I found environments that focused more on competing with men than on empowering women leaders. That never sat right with me. If it weren’t for the men in my life, especially my father and husband, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Even on social media, “empowerment” platforms felt repetitive and surface-level. Week after week, I saw the same recycled quotes, without substance, structure, or strategy.

Building a Platform for Female Leadership

Eventually, I had to face the truth, I couldn’t find what I was looking for.

So, I built it.

Drive Her Forward is a platform for personal development for ambitious women, offering female leadership programs designed for purpose-driven women who know they’re meant for more.

Women who are tired of performing instead of living. Exhausted from chasing someone else’s definition of success. Ready to stop shrinking and start owning their power.

Yes, impostor syndrome is real.
 No, the playing field isn’t level.

I’ve been told to “be quiet” and “know my place” while trying to prove my worth. I’ve had roles promised to me and later handed to men for double the salary. I’ve traded self-respect for approval more times than I care to admit.

No more.

I’ve reached a turning point. I’m done trying to be chosen, done performing, done waiting for permission to lead my own life.

I know what I bring to the table, and I’m not afraid to sit there alone, which isn’t even possible.

This isn’t a comeback. It’s a return to who I’ve always been.

Through this, I’ve learned that sexism and industry culture weren’t my biggest barriers. The real obstacle was subtle self-doubt and the belief that I had to earn my power by being agreeable, polite, and perfectly prepared.

And I know I’m not alone.

Women don’t fail because we lack ability. We get stuck because we’ve been conditioned to second-guess and water ourselves down until we’re unrecognizable.

That stops here.

Why Now: Intentional Leadership for Women

Women today are more educated, ambitious, and qualified than ever before, yet still underrepresented in the highest seats of power. Not because we can’t get there, but because somewhere along the way, we began believing we needed permission.

That’s a lie I refuse to pass on to the next generation.

We don’t need more empty motivation. We need strategy, structure, and accountability. We need real conversations about power, boundaries, pricing, ambition, and execution, all the things women have been conditioned to second-guess.

Drive Her Forward isn’t just another feel-good sisterhood building bridges of international leadership for women ready to lead with impact. It’s not about venting or playing small. It’s about ownership in leadership, ownership of your choices, your confidence, and your direction.

That means:

• Tools to make smarter decisions and faster moves
  
• Frameworks to negotiate, price, and position yourself with authority
  
• Accountability to execute, not just dream
  
• A community that holds women to a higher standard
  

If you’ve ever felt that tension between who you are and who you’re becoming, you’re not alone. Maybe you’ve stayed silent in meetings or watched someone else take credit for your ideas.

It’s time for women in leadership to define success on their own terms.

So, let me ask you:

Are you still chasing someone else’s definition of success?
And what would happen if you stopped playing small?

We’re done shrinking. We’re done proving.
We’re building something different, on our own terms.

It starts now.

Let’s go out and build our lives.

Join the Drive Her Forward Community

Join the Drive Her Forward community, a space for women in leadership who are ready to lead with intention, confidence, and measurable progress.

Build your life by design, not by default.