Life in a man's world

Rachel Bowler

Rachel is handy with a spanner - but she is a girl is a man's world.

Last year, only 9 per cent of students enrolled in the motor industry courses at Wintec were female.

Rachel Bowler, 18, enrolled in Level 2 Automotive at Wintec in 2010 because she was interested to find out how cars and engines worked.

She found the course difficult at first, because it was hard to get respect from her class mates. She was the only girl in class.

"A lot of them didn't have much to do with me unless they were giving me crap, but I turned around and did the same to them. I just thought of them as males being typical males," says Rachel.

Near the end of her course at Wintec, an electrical company in Te Awamutu asked her tutor if he would recommend any of his students to fill a job opening.

"He recommended me for the job; I did the interview, handed them my resume and I haven't heard from them since," says Rachel.

The tutors at Wintec have a positive attitude when it comes to females in the mechanical industry, and are extremely supportive.

Michelle Corkill, enrolled in Level 3 Heavy Automotive at Wintec, says her tutors are helpful and think it's awesome there are more females enrolling in mechanical courses.

She is also the only female in her class but says that doesn't stop her.

"I get treated the same as everyone else, I have to put up with the male sense of humour, but the guys treat me as another guy. They don't give me any special treatment because I'm a girl," says Michelle.

She also works at Repco part-time and doesn't think the mechanic industry is sexist.

"I think mechanics is a sexist industry - but I don't think it is the workers. I think it is more the customers who are sexist," says Michelle.

Rachel also worked at Repco and faced the same issue.

"Most men and some women don't want to accept that a young girl could know more than they do about cars. It's hard trying to politely give advice to someone who isn't listening because you're a girl," says Rachel.

"Some customers will straight away ask to be served by a man, and others will ask me for advice to be nice, but two minutes later go and ask the same thing to a male employer. It makes you feel like a dick."

Even with these hurdles it's not going to stop Rachel and Michelle from getting their dream jobs.

Michelle wants to stay in heavy automotive and work for an international company, with the hopes of travelling overseas.

Rachel hasn't decided where she wants to work.

"I would love a job in either general mechanics or electrical. Electrical seems to be where the world is going so I am swaying toward that, but I will see what happens after I finish studying and go from there," she says.