To try to increase the number of women interested in automotive, we created the Girls’ Fast Track Races. A race designed to give more girls the opportunity to fall in love with cars and engineering at a young age.

In the U.S., the Boy Scouts have long had a tradition of Pinewood Derby races. But until now, Girl Scouts haven't. Maybe this helps explain why the auto industry is such a male-dominated business. Well, we wanted to change that. So we created the Girls’ Fast Track Races. Aiming to give girls the same introduction to engineering and cars that boys have been receiving for years. The program spanned from September to February. It launched with tips and tricks videos and workshops lead by Ford engineers, both designed to help girls prepare their cars to race. Starting in October, regional events were held in cities across America, giving hundreds of girls the chance to race for the first time ever. To close out 2016 and kick-off year two of the program, in February of 2017, four Girls Scouts were invited to race live on the Today Show.

While numbers were impressive, with 40,452,962 views and

214,987,980 impressions, the most important thing to us was the impact it had on hundreds of girls across America. The excitement on their faces was pure joy. And, if this program opened new career possibilities in the minds of even a few of those girls, it was a success. This year the program is expected to, at least, double in size. After the Today Show, Girl Scout councils from all over the U.S. called requesting races in their regions. To make that a reality, a national partnership with the Girl Scouts is currently being worked out.