High levels of anxiety for females visiting garages - and an example of why we feel this way
I couldn’t believe it when I came across this story from just four days ago on google. In fact, that is a lie - I’m sadly not surprised by the story itself, which is a great example of why we are here, but I couldn’t believe the relevance and timing, just as we are about to launch!
Soraya Easterbrook, 33, was not only made to feel intimated and uncomfortable when she took her car to the garage last week, but was also charged a shocking £700 to replace a battery (which wasn’t even the problem). This kind of disgusting behaviour needs to be challenged - it’s fraud in it’s most basic form - taking advantage of those perceived to be ‘vulnerable’ in that particular environment. Massive kudos to Soraya for speaking out about this and raising awareness. I’m going to reach out and see if she wants to name and shame the garage and add them to our garages to avoid page.
Looking art the wider picture, the article mentions some terrifying stats (although for the sake of transparency - I can’t find a source, but they don’t surprise me at all):
10 million female drivers in the UK experience stress and anxiety around visiting a garage
Is it any wonder, when we hear stories like Soraya’s frequently (and many of us have probably had a similar experience). I’m fairly confident with cars, and have a good amount of common sense with them, yet I’ve been lied to and taken advantage of numerous times in the past. Obviously, this happens to men too, but due to age-old stereotypes, it is more likely to happen to females.
In addition to being anxious and stressed about being ripped off, we also have to deal with sexism:
48% of female drivers (8 million of us) have experienced sexism at a garage
To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if that figure is even higher. Often, it’s so deeply engrained and people may not mean any harm. But I would imagine that it is also used to try to intimate women at times.
A couple of other figures I came across when looking for the source of the mirror stats (source):
44% of females surveyed felt anxious going to a garage purely because of their gender
35% of females surveyed felt they had been overcharged in the past due to their gender
This is exactly why shedrives:tribe is absolutely needed; we have an opportunity to impact how often these incidents happen and show the car and mechanic industry that we will absolutely not stand for this any more.
Do you have any stories similar to the above? We want to hear them! Email us at shedrivestribe@gmail.com - also see our trusted garages page, newsletter, and check out our guides and checklists so you can go in armed with the knowledge and confidence you need. Good luck!
