Alternative Auto Care, the Mechanics
Hiding in a quiet neighborhood in the Columbus City borough of Dennison Place, there is a green awning above a purple door that says “Auto Care” in white letters. Step inside the door, Jossalynn Burrell, and Stacey Hallock, the two technicians, are working on their client’s vehicles. In the meantime, Chirs Cozad and Jennifer Hoover are sitting in a tiny office on the right-hand side of this site, answering the phone call. This auto care shop is staffed by five people.
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And all of them are women.
Chris Cozad and Stacey Hallock try to fix the engine of their customer's car.
Jossalynn Burrell hammers the hub of client’s Chevrolet.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014, only 1.4% of the employees in the automotive service are women. The owner, Chris Cozad, started this auto care business in 1983. And no women in Columbus ran an auto repair shop.
“There's a huge shortage of automotive technicians in this country right now. And so it's a wide-open field for everybody and it is particularly wide open for women,” said Chris. “I got really passionate about women in nontraditional jobs. It's a great path for women to economic equity without having to invest big dollars in a college education or graduate school.”
In the past 35 years, Chris realized that women who were interested in auto repair had terrible experiences and they didn't get the opportunity to actually learn. She kept hearing this from her friends who worked in dealerships, and all they ever got to do was oil changes.
"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good."
"Luckily this is not difficult."
Chris started to seek change in this incompetent industry. One of the commitments that Chris is approaching to is to give not just female customers, but also those male customers who have no interest in pretending that they know about a car, an opportunity to experience this field in a non-threatening environment. And more importantly, Chris wants to protect women mechanics from the risks of working in a men-streaming industry, like sexual harassment.
Just like what male mechanics would go through, clients and colleagues sometimes discriminate against female mechanics at Alternative Auto Care. However, they are turning those judgments to the power that encourages them to continue their work in faith. Jossalynn Burrell, the youngest mechanics in this shop, claims that the criticism is a good way to “prove that you can do this work.”
“You can easily create a hazardous situation for someone if you don't do it right. But it wasn't necessarily because of gender actually,” said Jossalynn. “I had more positive responses where people seemed impressed or surprised and was afforded opportunities that I would not have otherwise been offered because of my gender. It tended to go the opposite way, but either way you look at it, it has to be based on merit and you have to remember to have integrity.”
Stacey Hallock (right) plays with their neighbor, Terry Malinowski's dog, Wilson, during the work time.
Jossalynn Burrell checks the inside of the car.
Jossalynn Burrell checks undercarriage of a customer’s vehicle.
Stacey Hallock (right) plays with their neighbor, Terry Malinowski's dog, Wilson, during the work time.
Having a female-run auto care shop is just their first step. Alternative Auto Care are also offering workshops to educate women about relative knowledge, and definitely draw more women into this industry.
“There is a says that this industry is dirty and heavy lifting. It's all these things that won’t appeal to women. And that’s just really not true,” said Chris. “You can do this job. You can do this successfully no matter who you are.”
