Conversations With Colleagues: Celebrating Women and Sharing Wisdom

On International Women’s Day, during Women’s History Month and throughout the year, we are proud to recognize and celebrate the achievements, wisdom and insight of our colleagues.

Meet Jennie Davis, director of sales at MOTOR Information Systems, the leading supplier of automotive repair data in the U.S. and Canada. With extensive experience building relationships and clientele, securing strategic sales and consulting with distributors and manufacturers across construction and industrial markets, Davis joined MOTOR in October 2020 and has already surpassed sales expectations with aplomb. 

Last year, Jennie was the top salesperson on her team at MOTOR, an accolade she does not take lightly and one that she is immensely proud of. “It’s important to me because for so long women’s achievements have gone unrecognized,” she said. 

Many women helped inspire Jennie along her path, from colleagues and family to athletes and advocates, and their wisdom, coupled with her own experiences, help her guide other women to success. 

“In past jobs, there have been times when I’d be in a meeting and I could tell I was not being listened to at all. People would turn and ask a question to my male counterpart instead. There are people that still believe those old stereotypes that men are the ones with the decision power,” she said. 

While numerous women leaders advised Jennie as she navigated the corporate world, she especially treasures the lessons her mother taught her about self-esteem and the power of a positive outlook. “I was blessed to have parents who always told me that I could do anything. I believed that, and because of it, I have achieved more than I thought possible,” she said. Jennie’s mom empowered her to always believe in herself and to believe in goodness, even in difficult times — times she has certainly faced working in a male-dominated industry. 

Jennie has been in the automotive and heavy equipment industry since 2005, but she began her working life in athletic administration, with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in exercise physiology, as well as an MBA. Before building solutions for clients and finding new opportunities for MOTOR, she was a sports coach focused on providing opportunities to young women in her hometown on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, an under-resourced area that lacked a gymnasium, sports gear and supplies.

Using skills acquired from her degrees and her own personal experience as a decorated student athlete, Jennie coached the local high school women’s basketball and softball teams and a Division II college women’s volleyball team. As a coach, she sought to pass on the knowledge she had gained and make a positive impact in the lives of young athletes from the community where she grew up.

“I played college basketball, softball and volleyball at a D2 level and I loved it. I had gotten so much out of it, and I was very excited to share my experiences,” she said. “These kids didn’t have somebody who grew up in the same area as them, who had been away and came back to bring them advice, like, ‘Hey, you could be this, you could do this, you could do that. I did this and I’m from here.’” 

Jennie names Billie Jean King as a big inspiration behind her desire to have a transformative effect on women in sports. “She inspired me to push for things when I saw something that was not right.” The efforts of American professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe also made a strong impression on Jennie, as Megan fought for equity in women’s sports all the way up to the landmark agreement made last month between the National Women’s Soccer League and the U.S. Soccer Federation. Jennie was thrilled at the decision, which mandated equal pay among women’s and men’s soccer teams. And although great strides have been made in the fight for equality, Jennie would like to see a future with pay parity, a narrow poverty gap and greater opportunity for women in all areas. 

“Where I grew up was a very rural, very poor area, with a lot of kids who didn’t have a lot of opportunities, so I was really excited to come back and give them a different perspective on the world,” Jennie said. Instilling the tenacity to overcome life’s sometimes unfair and unexpected events is an essential piece of advice that Jennie has tried to impress upon young athletes and aspiring corporate professionals alike. 

Jennie credits her identical twin sister, Jane, a recently retired military mental health professional, for her strength. “We both are very confident. I think Jane would say I am a little bit more confident than she, and I would probably say she is stronger than I,” she said. “She’s been married for over 30 years. She has children and grandchildren. There’s so much strength in all of her and all that she’s done"

Jennie reflected on the wisdom she’s shared with her sister and how much they have cheered each other on through years of growth. “Jane is probably incredulous at all the things I’ve done in my life and she’s very proud of me. I think she can’t quite grasp that I actually have done all these things,” she said. “She has also received accolades for her work, and her accomplishments have always been just as important to me as my own.”

Jennie’s optimism has always prevailed — she is a “glass half full” kind of person. “I always have a ton of enthusiasm, and that is a quality that has made me successful in many areas. To get people excited about things and to convey a level of excitement, that’s a very powerful thing in sales. To be able to teach people and to have them understand, while also inspiring enthusiasm about what my services might bring to them, is important,” she said. “I’ve always had that, and I think that comes from my teaching and coaching, which has crossed over into other parts of my life. Excitement and enthusiasm for what I do, and for life in general, and being able to bring people along with me on that journey is what I cherish.”

Whether celebrating the work and accomplishments of women or learning more about women’s history, the fight for suffrage in America and the individuals who are making a difference today, take time this month and throughout the year to honor the trailblazers, game changers and women in your life. Colleagues can visit Hearst Speaks to read stories from diverse voices across Hearst brands as well as legal and historical documents and can contribute to organizations that support gender equality by going to Hearst Gives Back and Fitch Community to have their donations matched dollar for dollar.