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Women
& Cars:
Mutually Exclusive Terms?
When
the Car Care Council Women’s Board gathers for its quarterly
meetings, the topic of the day is not fashion, spouses, or even
children. These automotive professionals, from industry executives
to technicians, take time out of their schedules for one reason.
They and the companies they represent are dedicated to educating
women about automotive maintenance and careers.
Board
members share an intense interest in correcting a problem that
has plagued female motorists since the Model T: lack of automotive
knowledge. For this reason, their primary goals are: 1) to increase
women’s awareness of the value of regular maintenance and
repair and 2) to encourage young people, girls and boys alike,
to investigate the automotive industry as a career option.“
The
fact that so many leaders in the industry support the Women’s
Board concept reinforces our theory that its formation was long
overdue” said Donna Wagner, Director of Operations for
the Council. The Women’s Board, founded in 1996, was the
logical outgrowth of the Car Care Council, whose mission is
to educate motorists about the benefits of proper automotive
maintenance. However, the Board’s task differs dramatically
from that of the Council.
In
short, women don’t need different information about cars
or related careers, but the message does need to be distributed
more effectively. Often, that entails using nontraditional means.
Present avenues of dissemination include articles written for
women by women, participation in women’s consumer shows,
expanded National Car Care Month programs, distribution of information
via conventional media as well as the Internet, industry trade
shows, school counselors, and career fairs.
“We
hope that in the near future we can post our own website where
everything from automotive schools to scholarships to job market
information can be found,” said Wagner. “It would
also be great to have a section for frequently asked automotive
questions. Sort of an on-line car clinic. This all take time
and money, but the Board is extremely determined.”
For
the skeptic who still thinks the terms “woman” and
“automobile” are mutually exclusive, consider the
following statistics from the Women’s Board survey on the
CCC web site. In the survey, 66 percent said they are responsible
for maintenance decisions concerning their vehicles. And 22
percent share the responsibility with another person.
A
large 90 percent feel that because they are women they are treated
differently by technicians and service managers while 74 percent
said that technicians explain the work that will be or has been
done, but many responded that they had to be persistent to get
this information.
The
Women’s Board encourages men to join their ranks. “To
achieve our goals, we cannot limit our resources to the women
of the industry,” reminds Wagner. “Participation is
open to all Car Care Council members.”
Along
with its website www.carcarecouncil.org,
literature is available describing its mission and goals. For
a free copy, write to Car Care Council Women’s Board, 42
Park Drive, Port Clinton, OH 43452 or e-mail: carcare@infinet.com.
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