Tips on making the aftermarket more comfortable for women

Popular technician and reality television personality Bogi Lateiner shared insights on how the automotive aftermarket can make the industry more welcoming for women.

In an industry looking to draw talent, making women more comfortable was the focus of Lateiner’s talk at the ASE Education Foundation instructor’s conference. In front of a standing-room only audience, she explored how to develop new initiatives to create a culture of inclusiveness in schools and the workplace.

When working with both male and female students, her tips included:

• Treat them the same. Have the same expectations of work to be accomplished and knowledge to be gained. Don’t “dumb down” skills for female students because of perceived strength or knowledge differences. A set of brakes doesn’t care what gender is changing them.
• Don’t compare. Don’t tell the male students that the female students are showing them up. Comments like that create more of a distance between male and female students and places unreasonable expectations on the female students.
• Create an inviting environment for everyone. Lateiner’s impressed upon the “automotive club.” As she explained it, “We are the club,” and then said, “that nobody wants to be a part of it. That needs to change if we want to solve the technician shortage.”

Furthermore, she observed that while the younger generation may be viewed as sensitive, that’s not a fair representation. But they’re not afraid to ask for what they need and want.

“In this hiring environment, employees have more power. Asking to be treated with respect, to be trained and provided with a career path while working in a collaborative environment isn’t being sensitive,” Lateiner said. “It’s what every employee should have. Change starts with the instructors. They have the power to create and set the expectation of a good work environment that their students can then take to the workplace.”