Women in the Transmission Repair Industry

8/10/2019 Women in the Transmission Repair Industry

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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


Women In The Transmission Repair Industry

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agageism, or aneism, or any oy otther "ism"her "ism"

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4/6

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-



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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


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.


Women in the Transmission Repair Industry

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