At AAPEX, Women Techs Rock hosted a panel discussion titled Filling the Workforce Gap and Readying for the Revolution. Dana Rapoport, chief of diversity and inclusion at TechForce lead the discussion between herself and three other women in the industry – Kim Auernheimer, co-owner/business manager at CS Automotive, Jill Trotta, vice president/GM of industry, sales, and certification at RepairPal, and Jacquie Walter Hower, director of operations at Zimmerman’s Automotive.
To kick off the discussion, Rapoport began with the question, “What stops women from entering this industry?”
Auernheimer was the first respond, noting that the industry’s “image” can be a deterrent for many women.
“What if my daughter came to me and said, ‘I want to be an automotive technician?' What would be your first thought?” Auernheimer asked.
Terms like “grease monkey” come to mind when people think of technicians, noted Auernheimer. Leaving a potentially negative connotation behind. People also tend to view technicians as “uneducated,” Auernheimer continued, when people in this industry are anything but.
“And I think that’s something that we in the industry need to take a hold of and take responsibility and correct,” Auernheimer said.
Moving on to the next panelist, Trotta discussed her father’s reaction to her wanting to become a technician. He didn’t support her career choice and listed a myriad of reasons why she shouldn’t pursue it – she wouldn’t be accepted, she could get hurt, it was a non-inclusive environment, etc.
Regardless of all this, Trotta pushed ahead. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Auernheimer noted how at her shop, they were on the verge of adding a woman to their team, but the woman ended up backing out because her parents didn’t approve.
This leads to the final panelists’ response. Walter Hower said that fear can prevent women from entering this industry: fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough. Walter Hower noted it's that lack of self-confidence steers women away from entering the industry.
The conversation of why there aren’t more women in the industry could go on and on, but as Auernheimer mentioned, image is the key.
If women can’t see themselves entering this industry and if those already in the industry aren’t taking women into consideration when looking for a new hire, then nothing will change.
