Monica Secondino and Ilaria Salzano, Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) jurors, joined 36 other women for the Women and Engines exhibition in Italy.
The exhibition aims to challenge gender stereotyping in the automotive industry.
The Friends of the Fratelli Cozzi Museum Association organised the Women and Engines exhibition, with the participation of the Italian WWCOTY jurors.
Thanks to twenty Alfa Romeo models from the museum’s collection, after addressing themes such as respect, elegance, and the beauty of photographic portraits featuring women and cars, this year’s exhibition also highlighted the theme of sisterhood.
The protagonists could highlight “the sister” with whom they share a special professional or personal relationship. The group had the opportunity to meet and get to know each other before the official inauguration: the preview took place at the Milan Autoclassica fair.
Monica and Ilaria had their photo taken with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, which debuted 70 years ago and was the first car in the Alfa Romeo range to bear a female name.
The vehicle gained popularity, particularly among the upper-middle class, and symbolised Italy’s post-war “economic boom.”
Notably, the Giulietta Sprint was dubbed the “fiancée of Italy.” In 1954, few women in Italy were behind the wheel.
The Italian jurors participated in the project to make the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women a starting point for reflection.
The concept of sisterhood is at the heart of WWCOTY, founded in 2009. Sandy Myhre, now President alongside Marta Garcia (executive President), felt the need to amplify women’s voices by uniting with other female professionals in an industry where female journalists were often overlooked despite working hard and holding prominent roles.
This led to WWCOTY, the first global car award voted exclusively by women experts in the automotive field, representing markets worldwide. This decision was not to exclude other genders but to protect and amplify women’s voices.
A decade later, the jury has grown to 81 members representing 55 countries. WWCOTY has become an automotive award group that recognises the best cars worldwide by category and overall.
