It’s not exactly a secret that women are often overcharged at car dealerships, mechanics, and any other car-related places.
In fact, Women’s News has reported in several cases, car insurance companies were charging female customers up to $500 dollars more than their male customers for the same policies.
Reports from the mid-90s have shown “women buyers were consistently quoted higher prices than men in over 300 audits at new car dealerships.” More recent reports from the 2000s show women getting quoted more than men in auto repair shops.
This is considered the “pink tax,” a theory that products or services marketed toward women cost more than identical products sold to men. According to Now.org, 2015 studies women’s products cost “ percent more on average than similar products for men 43 percent of the time” with personal care products costing 13 percent more than men’s products.
A female entrepreneur has taken steps to put an end to female upcharges by opening an all-female auto repair shop right here in Pennsylvania.
Patrice Banks made the tough decision to take on going to night classes for mechanics while working at DuPont. While at school she was not only the only 30-year-old but the only girl.
“I was tired of feeling helpless and having to go talk to a guy,” Banks expressed according to Good News Network.“I was afraid I was going to be taken advantage of.”
After getting enough experience she opened Girls Auto Clinic in Upper Darby, PA, in 2013.
The shop is targeted towards women offering not only free wifi, snacks, beverages, and hundreds of books, but a nail salon they can wait in.
“Me and my girlfriend that I worked with at DuPont would go to this specific Jiffy Lube on our lunch break because there was a nail salon next to it,” Banks explained.“We’d drop our cars off and walk next door and get our nails done while we waited.” She goes on to state that every woman she knew hated waiting for oil changes.
At this auto shop, women don’t experience the pink tax and are explicitly told what is wrong with their cars. As stated by Good News Network, not only does she tell clients “about the state of their vehicle when the work is finished” but they are “told about how Patrice came to that conclusion—what she was looking for, hearing for, and how she found or heard it.”
This shop opens a new place for women in mechanics seeing as “the automotive repair sector was flooded with female workers during the pandemic, with nationwide numbers rising from 4,000 to 19,000 by the end of 2022.”
MCTI has two female students, Savana Arroyo, ’26. and Mia Cajilema, ’27, in their Automotive Technology class.
“There are 16 boys in my class and it really doesn’t affect me at all. I do believe that more women should be in STEM because women bring different perspectives such as viewpoints of things which can lead to more effective solutions,” expressed Cajilema.
She goes on to explain how young girls need role models in fields typically male-dominated. Role models for younger girls who can inspire them to pursue careers in these fields.
Having diversity in STEM is important because it brings new ideas and perspectives for innovation. With different people comes a wide variety of perspectives.
“Considering that, having more women in STEM brings a variety of different perspectives and ideas, helps break down stereotypes, and encourages younger girls to continue careers in these types of fields,” continued Cajilema.
We’re heading towards a future where women no longer have to bring men to car shops with them to avoid unnecessarily high prices. The stereotype that women don’t understand cars has never been more wrong.
