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Consider this:

General Motors

• G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., chairman and CEO
• Frederick A. Henderson, president and COO
• Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman, Global Product Development (pictured)
• Ray G. Young, executive vice president and CFO
• Thomas G. Stephens, executive vice president, Global Powertrain and Global Quality

Ford Motor Company

• William Clay Ford, Jr., executive chairman
• Alan Mulally, president and CEO
• Michael Bannister, executive vice president, chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Credit Company
• Lewis Booth, executive vice president,  Ford of Europe and Premiere Automotive Group, chairman, Ford of Europe
• Mark Fields, executive vice president, president, The Americas
• Don R. Leclair, executive vice president, CFO
• John Parker, executive vice president, Asia Pacific and Africa

Chrysler LLC

• Robert L. Nardelli, chairman and CEO
• James Press, vice chairman and president
• Tom W. LaSorda, vice chairman and president

All of which is to note that there is a lot of testosterone in the executive offices at the Detroit Three.  (This is not to say that it isn’t the case at European and Asian companies, but the concern here is what’s happening around here.)

To be sure, if you go further down the list of executives for each of the Three you’ll find that there are women in positions of executive authority.  Just not at the top.  Which is fairly characteristic of not only the auto industry, but other sectors, as well.

But it seems that perhaps it would be a useful thing for there to be a change in some of the executive suites in Detroit as the companies undergo the current trying transformation.

After all, isn’t it possible that there needs to be a different perspective on the industry?

What got me thinking about his are some results from a survey recently conducted for Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN; www.CleanEnergyAction.net) by Opinion Research Corp. on the subject of, yes, energy and climate issues.  Some of the results are expected, like 74% of those surveyed saying that they are “very angry” or “somewhat angry” about gas prices.  Or the fact that 62% indicate that “rising gasoline and home heating oil prices” are their number-one worry.

Chances are, any of us could figure that out by asking the person in the next office.

No, the results that made me think about the importance of women as regards leadership in the auto industry came in some of the breakdowns.  For example, 53% of those surveyed in June say that they would be likely to buy a hybrid, clean diesel, or other “more fuel efficient car.”  That is up 9 percentage points since January.

But here’s the kicker: 60% of the women surveyed say that they’d be likely to buy a hybrid as compared with just 46% of the men.

Then there was a question about the effect of acting on global warming: Is it good for jobs and investments or bad?  Over all, 56% of those surveyed say that it will be beneficial to the economy, 15% think it will hurt the economy, and 26% think it will be a wash.

However, 63% of women think that action on global warming will help the economy and only 48% of the men do.  What’s more, 22% of men think it will hurt the economy while just 9% of women do.