Karen Dukatz-Devitis

Growing up, Karen Dukatz was told she could do anything.She headed toward engineering with her father's blessing."He said, 'There are no limits, except for the ones you put on yourself.' When your father says anything is possible," she notes, "you believe it."Now a high-ranking manager at Ford Motor Company, Karen--who started there as a secretary--is working hard to help a new generation find that same confidence, and break the glass ceiling once and for all.

Mentoring is crucial, says Karen, and it needs to start right in the classroom--where girls first begin closing off their options.She cites a recent study from The College Board that shows a telling disparity in math and science performance.
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Growing up in a dedicated and supportive family, Karen ran her first marathon in June, the Kona Marathon for the American Diabetes Association, in honor of a cousin stricken with the disease."I always wanted to run a marathon," she says, "but for a bigger reason than myself."She thrives on time spent with her godchildren, and cites a grandfather who lived to be 104 as further inspiration.She also derives great pride in Ford's shift to an organization that "sees the value in what women bring to the table."With programs like the Windstar, which directly factored in "the female consumer," she explains, the need to bring more women into the engineering field is increasingly understood.For to really understand the needs of this newly respected market, "you have to have women throughout your workforce at all levels."If she has anything to say about it--and she does--we will.

Karen Dukatz-Devitis is a recruiting manager with Ford Motor Company (Ford) and chair of FEDA (Ford Employees Dealing with disabilities), a program in its third year with approximately 90 disabled and non-disabled employees. This employee resource group serves as a support network for increasing enlightenment and awareness and eliminating social barriers inhibiting employees dealing with disabilities. Ford promotes disability awareness through various presentations throughout the company, with those who are disabled sharing some of their personal experiences.

Dukatz-Devitis says employers and businesses need to respect human capability, and not look at as what they can't do, but what they can do.

"Many of us may feel uncomfortable when we meet someone dealing with a disability," she says.