--- title: Matt Lauer to Mary Barra: Can You Run General Motors and Be a Good Mom description: Just months after Sen. Barbara Boxer said she was disappointed in Barra "woman to woman." canonical: https://time.com/2927598/matt-lauer-mary-barra-today-show/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-26T16:00:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:27.422Z og:title: Matt Lauer Asked Mary Barra If She Can Be a Good Mom and Run GM og:description: Just months after Sen. Barbara Boxer said she was disappointed in Barra "woman to woman." og:url: https://time.com/2927598/matt-lauer-mary-barra-today-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb7a7de331f8ff0/69869967cd804d42bcccba9c/450812696.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2345 og:image:height: 1319 og:image:alt: GM CEO Mary Barra Testifies At House Hearing On Ignition Switch Recall og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Matt Lauer Asked Mary Barra If She Can Be a Good Mom and Run GM twitter:description: Just months after Sen. Barbara Boxer said she was disappointed in Barra "woman to woman." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb7a7de331f8ff0/69869967cd804d42bcccba9c/450812696.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Matt Lauer Asked Mary Barra If She Can Be a Good Mom and Run GM > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. Culture editor Eliza Berman taps TIME's collective taste and perspective to surface what is worth watching, reading, talking about and sharing, and why. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: FIRSTS Mary Barra [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Mary Barra](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RVbEULUy.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2017-09-02. MARY BARRA is the FIRST woman to be CEO of a major car company._  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 26, 2014 4:00 PM UTC  General Motors CEO Mary Barra testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 18, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson--Getty Images) General Motors CEO Mary Barra testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 18, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson--Getty Images) Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 26, 2014 4:00 PM UTC In an exclusive [TODAY show ](http://www.today.com/news/gm-chief-mary-barra-car-recalls-i-dont-really-think-1D79852194)interview with Mary Barra, Matt Lauer asked the General Motors CEO if it was possible for her to run a major automaker and be a good mom at the same time. Here’s a [transcript](https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/matt-lauer-asks-general-motors--ceo-if-she-can-be-a-good-mother-too-143058501.html) of that part of the interview: --- > “” --- Lauer also asked her about the speculation that despite her 30 years of experience at the company, she may have gotten the job because of the desire to have a maternal figure guide the company through a rocky time. --- > “” --- This interrogation comes just a few months after Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told Barra during her [Senate](http://www.freep.com/article/20140402/BUSINESS01/304020057/GM-Barra-Senate-testimony-ignition-recall) questioning that “woman to woman, I’m disappointed.” How’s this for a question: Can Matt Lauer be a good dad and host the Today Show? 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