Visits: 16
All-Female Auto Shop Offers Oil Changes, Manicures, and Empowerment.
Girls Auto Clinic immediately stands out from the traditional car shop. For starters, the sign out front features a bright red stiletto with a wrench as the heel. Inside, along with all the typical machinery you’d expect from an auto shop, you’ll see an all-female team of mechanics as well as mani-pedi stations where customers can get their nails done while they wait for their cars to be fixed.
When it opened in 2013, the small business in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, made history as the first all-female auto repair shop in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women currently represent about 12% of auto shop employees — a number that is now on the rise.
Founder Patrice Banks said she wants to encourage women to work in the auto industry and make mechanic visits more enjoyable for clients. “Women, it’s like a chore, we hate going in to get our oil changed — it’s always a chore, it’s always a burden,” she told the International Business Times.
Beyond the usual services like oil changes, Girls Auto Clinic also offers hands-on workshops for women, a “do-it-herself” glove box guide, and perhaps most significantly, an empowering community
