THUNDER BAY -- Walking into a bike shop carries its perks. The smell of fresh tires, the sound of wrenches and metal striking the rims of bikes, mechanics walking around in overalls, the sight of grease and gears; just the exhilarating energy makes the visit to a bike shop a worthy one. But have you noticed one thing? You won’t see a lot of female faces. Why are female mechanics so scarce? Is it the labor? Is it the wages? Is it the lack of a mechanical education? Or is it all a combination of these stemming from years of stereotyping?
The automotive industry is one industry that has a severe shortage of women. Women barely make up 16 per cent of the automotive industry- a minority by a longshot. Probably one of the biggest gender gaps any industry has seen. Although there has been progress from the old days when women were taught to make bread and men were sent to get their hands dirty, the progress is still slow. Which is why, it is impressive and empowering to see women carrying their own jacks and wrenches to fix their bikes and cars.
To facilitate empowering female mechanics, a workshop series in Thunder Bay motivated local young women cyclists to grab their bikes and tools and learn the skills needed to fix their own bike’s needs. Facilitated by Janet Sillman, a renowned cyclist, the series called “Better your bike” encouraged women to get their hands dirty.
A mentality, “It is my bike, and I can take care of it,” pushed the workshop series to a success as women were highly enthusiastic about getting their hands dirty and fixing their bikes by themselves. For Janet Sillman, the biggest inspiration to learn the mechanical skills needed to fix bikes and spread that knowledge to fellow women cyclists, was all an effort for women to skip the judgmental eyes of a man the next time she walks into a shop to fix her bike
“When I visited Scotland, I had the opportunity to visit a bike shop where I saw a female mechanic. That was so inspiring. I thought that I’d like to do that; be able to put a bicycle together. Once I learnt the skills needed, I wanted to impart that knowledge on to other women who were equally inclined to learning the mechanics of putting a bike together. Hence, this workshop series with the help of Eco Superior, to encourage young women to get their hands dirty, on par with men,” she says.
When a girl walks into a shop to fix the bike or a car, she is greeted by a bunch of men that have already stereotyped her in their minds that she doesn’t know the mechanical lingo, which leads to a superiority complex, or the woman being taken advantage of. This is a main reason for the women to learn the bicycle lingo, and when the woman has that knowledge, it is very empowering.
“The better your bike workshop series are introductory lessons for you to take the bike out of your garage, fix it, and take it out on the road. A course to give the women the confidence and the independency to take the bike out without relying on someone else to follow that passion of riding a bike. And to make them feel, “Yes, I did it and it was fun,” Sillman says.
