Business & Tech
Girl Gang Garage — Empowering Auto Space With Training Classes, Inclusivity, Female Builds
Understanding cars can be intimidating. A new garage takes away the discomfort by providing an all-female environment to learn and work.
PHOENIX, AZ — Ladies, get ready, get set. Start your engines!
If starting the engine is just about the extent of your car skills, then it’s time to look into acquiring some basic automotive knowledge. After all, you don’t want to always rely on someone else to fix a car problem for you.
That’s where Patch’s new favorite business can help. Girl Gang Garage provides a comfortable female-dominated space for women to learn within a male-dominated field.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Girl Gang Garage offers monthly classes and events, including a women’s car care class every month taught by automotive expert and co-founder of Girl Gang Garage, Bogi Lateiner.
The class is for women who want to understand how their car works but have been too intimidated by male auto environments.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Bogi teaches women “female-friendly techniques for basic auto care” such as changing a tire, checking fluids, changing wipers, checking belts and hoses and jump-starting a battery. The class also describes basic information about brake and cooling systems.
The point of the garage's all-female environment is to create an inclusive, empowering space for women, not to necessarily exclude men, according to the website. The reasoning behind the all-female space?
“Less than 2.5% of automotive tradespeople are women. Most women working in the trades have never met, let alone worked with, another woman. Feeling like an ‘only’ is a common sentiment that can be discouraging at times. … Here we find the motivation to keep going when times get rough. For the newbies, many have been hesitant to explore work or hobbies like this because it can be intimidating and overwhelming. ... Our mission is to include, promote, and empower women.”
More women in the auto care business started by seeing other women thrive there.
In addition to the classes and events, the garage also hosts “All Female Builds,” in which women work on building and restoring cars and trucks together.
Women built this eye-catching truck and this snazzy-looking pickup. The builds have no experience requirements, are completely free and are open to any woman who wants to learn skills and experience the business hands-on, whether they live in Phoenix or not.
Check the website for more information about the logistics and answers to specific questions regarding the All Female Builds.
The garage welcomes transgender people. Any people who “were born female or identify and live full time as a female” can participate, the website said.
You can sign up online for the All Female Builds, and don’t forget to sign up early for classes and events! They sell out far in advance, so if you want a spot, make sure to grab one for the next month.
If you feel able to help with the progress of women in the auto care business but don’t live in Phoenix and can’t travel there to help with a build, donating is always a much-appreciated option.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
