Post on 02-Jun-2018
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Women in the
i n d u s t r y .
Yeah a
fluff piece, or a stab at political cor-
rectness, right? Try this instead: in one
form or another, women have been
involved in this industry for a long time
but their contribution has been
unrecognized, or limited by social con-vention. Why is this important?
Because a large pool of motivated, tal-
ented individuals, capable of perform-
ing a wide range of technical and man-
agement jobs, is being overlooked as a
resource of potential employees. This,
in an industry that acknowledges one of
the most pressing issues it now faces is
a shortage of trained technical help.
Stereotypes are slow to fade,
though, and in a male-dominated indus-
try such as aftermarket automotive
repair, the change in some
respects may be glacial. Before I get
any deeper into the primary topic,
though, I want to single out for recogni-
tion what certainly must be the most
under-acknowledged group ever to
have been associated with the industry:
the Mom quotient in the Mom and
Pop transmission shops that have
dominated this industry since its incep-
tion.
While pop runs the shop or does allthe technical work, mom handles the
front counter, answers the phone, keeps
the books, manages the accounts, and
deals extensively with the customers.
On top of that, she usually manages the
home, prepares the meals, and has the
lions share of responsibility for rearing
the kids. Although half-owner in these
operations, they often draw no salary,
and are commonly overlooked when
reference is made to the ownership of
the business.
Women In The
Transmission
Repair Industry
26 GEARS November 2002
Women In The
Transmission
Repair Industryby Paul Morton
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When you consider that some 80%
of the independent transmission shops
associated with ATRA fall within this
husband-and-wife-as-owner category,
the number of women involved in the
industry is indeed significant. Beyond
the numbers, though, is the quiet and
considerable contribution many
moms have made, and continue to
make.
Having said that, Id like to explore
the growing role of women in an other-wise male-dominated industry, and
introduce a handful of those women
that are not just successful, but con-
tributing to the industry in a meaningful
way. Julia Garcia, Testing and
Certification Coordinator for ATRA,
conducted an un-scientific survey of
several ATRA members to determine
their experience and opinion concern-
ing women technicians. Before we
begin to discuss those results, though, a
glimpse back in time may be beneficial.
Just prior to World War II, women
comprised only about 25% of the work-
force. Within that group, the majority
were occupied with secretarial, clerical,
teaching, or nursing positions. For the
most part, traditional family roles were
observed; mom at home tending chil-
dren, dad at work as the breadwinner.
Then came December 7, 1941, and the
world changed virtually overnight.
Americas industrial production
capability kicked into high gear justwhen a great number of the workforce
volunteered for military service.
Despite considerable reservation
expressed by many at the time, women
stepped in to help fill the void. Many
of the jobs women filled and were
very successful at were the mechani-
cal/technical ones that required a high
level of skill, dexterity, and strength.
As a group the women excelled. Their
contribution to the war effort was unde-
niable; though when the war ended, it
was eliminated about as quickly as it
started.
As the post-war industry retooled
for a civilian economy, returning veter-
ans were given priority and replaced
women workers. But the experience
had given many women something they
found very satisfying: income, inde-
pendence and a newfound pride in
themselves and their product. Needless
to say, the social evolution that started
with World War II has continued, andwomen are more thoroughly integrated
into the workforce than ever before.
Today, women comprise 61% of the
available U.S. workforce, though many
occupations (such as a number related
to the auto repair industry) are still
male-dominated. Why? Is it that
women truly arent able to do the job?
When I first started my law
enforcement career in the early 70s,
female cops were not common. Many
(myself included) felt they would not be
GEARS November 2002 27
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able to do the job as well as male
officers. What I eventually learned was
more than just simple enlightenment
about sexism.
Sexism, like racism, or ageism, or
any other ism based on a faulty belief
system, involves a blind belief of
stereotypes. In law enforcement, a typ-
ical stereotypical belief was (is?) thatwomen would be disadvantaged
because of smaller size and lesser phys-
ical strength. In truth, raw physical
strength is less needed than many real-
ize, and there are many devices, proce-
dures or systems that equalize most
deficits. In many areas of law enforce-
ment I came to realize that women
actually excelled, and (gasp!) often
handled some tasks better than their
male counterparts. Why? Its not that
some women may be as big or as strong
as some men (which are the lesser of
the general reasons). The most signifi-
cant underlying reason is that women
dont usually have the ego investment
as do many men (which is the most
common of reasons). But because of
that, women are often more flexible,
adaptable, and trainable. They dont
tend to cling to personal beliefs at all
costs, and arent afraid to admit when
they dont understand something. And
they almost always ask for directions
when lost.Of course there are always excep-
tions, and yes, there is room for error in
generalizations. The point Im trying
to make is, dont cling to old line
beliefs simply because you always
have. Stereotypes dont hold up under
the light of reality. And they could be
keeping you from finding the employ-
ees you need.
Many of the answers Julia gleaned
from her survey were surprisingly sim-
ilar in content. I didnt see a singleresponse that indicated a business
owner would be reluctant to hire a qual-
ified female. Notice the word quali-
fied. If a business owner is in need of
a competent technician, I would expect
them to seek a qualified individual
regardless of any other consideration.
In the least, be willing to train a person
they feel has the other positive attrib-
utes they would like to see in an
employee.
As one would expect, some of the
28 GEARS November 2002
Women In The Transmission Repair Industry
SeSexism, likxism, like re racism, oracism, or
agageism, or aneism, or any oy otther "ism"her "ism"
based on a fbased on a faulty beliefaulty beliefsysyssttem, inem, invvololvves a blindes a blind
belief of sbelief of stterereoeotypes.types.
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women in our industry own their busi-
ness either with their husband or
other business partner, but some as sole
owners. Other women occupy posi-
tions such as service writer, or center
manager. Others maintain a parts
department. Since I knew going into
this assignment that I wouldnt be able
to pay appropriate homage to all thewomen-occupied occupations within
the industry, I wanted to focus on just a
few that were unique in one way or
another, yet still had some unique con-
siderations.
Pam Hogan is the Service
Manager at TRC Transmissions, Inc.,
in Chatsworth, CA. Professionally
trained as a medical assistant and X-
Ray technician, Pam left the workforce
for 17 years to raise her children.
When she wanted to get back to outside
work, she happened to connect with a
transmission shop owner who offered
her work as a parts runner. The job
eventually transitioned into office man-
agement and bookkeeping, and her
contact with customers increased.
Assignment to the position of service
manager came as a reflection of her
growing ability.
In response to Julias inquiry, Pam
said, I have not had too many rough
spots in dealing with obstacles in the
automotive industry, though I usuallyhave to do some degree of proving
myself to male customers at times.
Generally, customers are very comfort-
able with me, particularly women and
men who do not possess a great deal of
mechanical knowledge.
Pam brings up an interesting point
concerning customer contact with
women, and men who may not possess
a great deal of mechanical knowledge.
This is increasingly more important
when you consider the fact that womenhave become the primary decision
makers in an increasing number of sit-
uations.
With men, it goes back to the ego
investment point I made earlier; men
are simply reluctant to admit to another
man that they have no idea of how
something works. And trust me when I
say a high percentage of men have no
functional knowledge of how a modern
transmission works (myself among
them). That refusal to profess igno-
GEARS November 2002 29
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rance falls into the same category as
does being lost and refusing to ask for
directions.
Women will almost always be more
comfortable speaking with another
woman about their vehicles problem
an area in which they may have little
knowledge - for a simple reason: trust.
According to consumer research, when
faced with a major purchase decision,
women feel it is less likely another
woman would take advantage of them
as would a man in the same situation. A
significant proviso: the female cus-
tomer must believe the woman to whom
they are dealing with is credible.
This could have significant impli-
cations for shops where a man is the
service writer, or for the male owner
who has primary contact with the cus-
tomer. A low-pressure approach to
sales, where technical jargon is avoided
and emphasis placed on educating the
customer, will more likely be success-
ful with women, and probably equally
well-received by men.
The experience of the female who
co-owns the business with her husband
and takes an active role in its daily
operation may be similar to that of
Donna Witherspoon. Donna is the sec-
retary-parts manager-co-owner of
Trans-Work in Paris, TN. Married for
26 years to her builder-husband James,
their business has been in operation for
15 of those years. Donna was the
daughter of a mechanic, and a self-
described tom boy to whom cars were
no mystery. A few years ago the deci-
sion was made to expand the business,
and Donnas role expanded as well. It
was decided, she said, that My job was
to get the vehicle in here, and keep the
parts here to do the job.As one might expect, not all per-
spective customers want to speak to a
women and some of those are
women themselves. But the ability to
electronically diagnosis a problem is a
great equalizer, and it doesnt take the
30 GEARS November 2002
Women In The Transmission Repair Industry
Women will almost
always be more
comfortable speak-
ing with another
woman about their
vehicles problem
an area in which
they may have little
knowledge - for a
simple reason: trust.
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customer long before they realize
Donna knows her business. Electronic
diagnosis is one area in particular that
Donna feels has great potential for
women who want to work in the indus-
try. I would tell any woman going into
the field to study electronics if you
know all there is to know about elec-
tronics you can set your own price, she
said.
Its still far from being an equal
playing field, though. Donna said when
she pulls a part for some male cus-
tomers, they question if its the right
one. Such an attitude is actually the
fault of women, Donna indicated with
obvious humor. After all, she said,
we raised em.
If there is a single occupation in
this industry that represents the tradi-
tional soul of the trade, it has to be that
of the rebuilder-technician. Most shopswill live or die on the skills (or lack
thereof) of the builder. When critical
personnel shortages are discussed, its
almost always the builder that is at the
heart of it.
Michelle Oberg is a transmission
technician at Probuilt Transmissions in
Diamond Springs, CA. Michelle has a
very insightful view on women in the
industry, and the process of her own
journey. So much so, we thought it
would be of greater interest if she toldher story herself which shes done in
the accompanying article. What she
wont say, is just how good a technician
she is.
Her boss at Probuilt, shop owner
Kenny Mosser, said, Shes great she
doesnt have near the comebacks than
the guys I had. I was somewhat sur-
prised to hear that, and asked why.
She works harder, Kenny said. Any
girl in a guy industry is going to workharder just to prove she can do it. If
Michelle cant dispel any long-held
stereotypes about the effectiveness of
women in the industry, I doubt anything
else will.
It was interesting to note the infor-
mation obtained from the education-
al/vocational training programs that
responded to Julias inquiry. A number
of the programs responded, and all indi-
cated that women represented a very
low number of students in their pro-grams, with even fewer completing the
training.
The only reasonable inference I
can draw from this is that most young
women dont see transmission repair as
a viable career choice. Why? Probably
for much the same reason as fewer
young men are being attracted to the
field. We dont do as good a job selling
the upside of the industry, and what
sales jobs are sold, are directed bysocial conformity to young men.
I wont tell you that recruiting and
training women will be the absolute
answer to any or all your technician
woes. I will tell you that many women
are capable of doing much more than
you may think, and they need to be
given the chance, on an individual
basis, just as anyone else should.
Its really nothing new; as Ive indi-
cated, there are women currently func-
tioning well in every aspect of theindustry. So much so that Ive had to
not include a ton of material Julia col-
lected on a host of other women and
their roles in the industry. To those Ive
not been able to recognize here, I apol-
ogize. Still thanks for the effort and
contributions you have made and con-
tinue to make to the industry.
GEARS November 2002 31