Boosters of more female bosses are hailing the appointment of a woman to the top job at General Motors.

Mary Barra is the first woman chief executive of a major carmaker.

Currently an executive vice president, she has been at GM for her whole career, starting as an engineering intern in 1980. Her father was also a long-time GM employee.

Retiring CEO Dan Akerson said Barra was “not picked because of her gender or political correctness”, but because she’s a “gifted executive”.

She said: “I’ve worked at General Motors for 33 years and I’ve always known it’s a great company. The men and women of General Motors are so dedicated and I truly believe we have the best team on the field. So it’s an honour for me to be able to lead this team.”

Former GM executive Lynn Myers, one of the first women in Detroit to run a car division before her 2004 retirement, said even though Barra has worked for the automaker so long she is not part of the the old regime: “This is not business as usual at G