Women in the Auto Repair Industry

By Walter Ford

A generation ago, less than 1% of all mechanics in the United States were women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In 1989, there were 880,000 automobile service and repair technicians and only 6,000 of them were women.
Just 10 years later, there were 43,000 fewer technicians but twice as many women (12,000) and the ratio appears to be growing as more and more auto repair shops look for reliable and competent help from both genders.

Now, the industry is making a comeback. The nation's demand for auto mechanics is expected to grow about 17% from 2010 to 2020, adding 124,800 jobs for a total of 848,200, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. So, there’s never been a better time for more women to enter this male dominated industry.

Walter Ford, the owner of Valley Motorwerks in Rancho Cordova is pleased and excited to see more women entering the industry. Valley Motorwerks is a shop that specializes in the service and repair of BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Mini Cooper vehicles. Walter believes that women add a variety of important skill-sets and perspectives to auto repair shops that lack a female presence.

When Walter decided to expand his business, he hired Jane Schwarzbart, a seasoned veteran in the auto repair industry to manage his shop. I got a chance to speak with Walter and Jane recently. Here’s how our conversation went.

Q: Walter, can you tell us about your history working with Jane?

Walter: Well, I have known Jane for several years now from the racing side of our business. She ran a very successful shop in the bay area and also fielded a race car and took a championship. That’s not a simple thing to do and it takes a lot of team building skills and management ability. When I found out that Jane was living in the area and was looking for an opportunity, I looked back on that season they had won and thought it would be advantageous to have someone with those skills manage Valley Motorwerks as I move on to some other things.

Q: Jane, what’s your background in the auto repair industry?

Jane: It started out with my father in the industry when I was growing up and he worked at a dealership here in Sacramento. I moved to the bay area, married into it and ran a business from then on, so I don’t know anything else.

Q: How many years have you worked in the auto repair business?

Jane: Many years – 18 years in the business.

Q: As a manager, you’re responsible for running the business from the front counter …

Jane: From the front counter to the back counter to parts, customers, marketing, keeping the doors open and insuring total customer satisfaction.

Q: Where was the shop you owned?

Jane: Albany, California.

Q: How did that shop compare with Valley Motorwerks?

Jane: The same car lines, just a different area.

Q: What brought you to Sacramento?

Jane: I needed a change. Sacramento is where I grew up. It is home to me.

Q: What were some of the biggest challenges that you found when you first came into the industry – being a woman in an industry that’s predominately male?

Jane: Getting used to being around males and cleaning up the language (laughing). However, Walter has done an excellent job at maintaining a professional environment.

Q: Would you care to expand on that?

Jane: No (laughing)!

Walter: I will though. I think this industry, since it’s male dominated, tends to run free a little bit with a lot of sexist behavior and disregard for customers in general because; unfortunately, when you have a group of men working together there is a certain us vs. them mentality. That is something that we don’t have here and absolutely can’t have. I think that having Jane here brings a unique perspective, a woman’s point of view.

Q: What are some of the things you’re looking forward to having Jane manage this shop?

Walter: I think despite Jane growing up in the industry, just being a female in a male dominated world gives her a unique perspective and it’s good for us. It’s advantageous to show the guys to see what it’s like to see through her eyes. We have a great group of guys. They’re fun, don’t use foul language, relatively clean – well I thought they were until Jane got here and made them clean the bathroom and the kitchen… and then the bathroom again!

Jane: A woman’s touch needs to be added.

Walter: Absolutely and that’s the sexist part of me that says women are different than men, not necessarily better or worse, but different, and I think we should have a full 360 degree view of what the customer is experiencing and what they need.

Q: Do you think your female customers will appreciate a woman in this business?

Jane: Yes and it helps them feel comfortable. It adds a level of comfort knowing that they are coming to a shop managed by a woman. Sometimes, when the repairs are explained in a technical way and possibly over their head, they may not say anything about it. It is my hope that they are more apt to ask when I’m at the front counter.

Walter: I think that’s important because… and here it is with the female perspective, if I am sitting at a counter and a guy comes in and I tell him, “Hey look, this is what’s wrong with your car… if he understands, cool. If he doesn’t understand, then he’s going to ask. I think Jane pointed something out that is very important, that a woman may feel reluctant to ask for explanations.

Jane: Right, because they don’t know so they don’t know what to ask.

A: So, you have found it to be more common for a woman to avoid asking for an explanation. Is that right?

Walter: That’s right. We do have some female customers come in who are very mechanically inclined. We have a lady who comes in that is pushing 70 years old, grew up on a farm and she will talk to you about almost every car model and make made for the last 45 years. She is a blast to talk to. You have to treat every customer as an individual. When we tell her what’s wrong with her car, she understands. In those instances where we have somebody that we need to do more explaining towards or who is afraid to ask, I think with Jane here they are more likely to ask.

Q: Jane, have you been able to spot that tendency in your female customers who have a blank look in their eyes?

Jane: The deer in the headlights, yes!

Q: Whereas a man might feel like he’s done his job and explained it to them. Do you find that to be the case?

Jane: A lot of times yes. When it comes to walking through that door, they just have a different outlook on what to expect. Most women, because it gives them the feeling of I don’t know if they are going snowball me or not because I won’t understand. An educated customer makes better decisions.

Q: What are some of the biggest changes you have noticed with women in the auto repair business?

Jane: I have been seeing more women in the industry, which has been a big plus. They are actually getting out of those typical office jobs and getting more into the industry.

Q: Do you see more women at the service counter or more technicians?

Jane: I have seen more at the service counter. I have seen technicians too and they love it. I did have a hair dresser in the bay area and she went to work for a dealership. I was impressed. She did both and she liked the challenge of both but she preferred being a technician. You would have never thought that very small petite woman would, but she loved the challenge.

Q: Walter, can you tell us about your newest expansion?

Walter: Yes, at Valley Motorwerks, we started a racing series back in 2006 and that is the series that Jane and her company were involved with. They were some early adopters actually and that part of the business has grown. We have leased a 15,000 sq. ft. shop off of Power Inn Road and 100% of all racing and performance stuff is going to be offloaded to that shop. The workflow here will be unimpeded and Jane won’t be calling me and yelling at me about all the race cars around her shop. The goal of having Jane here – because I've been an absentee owner here for awhile now because I've been taking care of very ill parents, is to get the business back on track.