Celebrating International Women's Day

On March 8th, 2021, Wrench celebrates International Women's Day. It's a day to celebrate the achievements of women, raise awareness against biases, and take action against inequality, although we should all do that every day. Here at Wrench, we vow to do everything we can to support the women at Wrench and in the greater technology and automotive industry.

What Is International Women's Day?

The first step we need to take in order to do better is to learn. International Women's Day is a global celebration of women's achievements and occurs annually on March 8th. This has been celebrated since the early 1900s and eventually became an internationally recognized day of celebration.

In 1908, 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York City as an effort towards equality in their jobs. The very next year, in 1909, National Women's Day was declared on the last Sunday of February. America celebrated National Women's Day on that last Sunday until 1913. In between that time, other countries all over the world began setting dates to celebrate women's achievements and push for equality. In 1910, International Women's Day was proposed and, in the next year, it was celebrated by Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany on March 19th. By 1914, the date for International Women's Day was officially set to be on March 8th.

Since then, there has been a lot of progress towards equality for women. There are more women in the workforce, they have more legislative rights, and inequalities have gotten more awareness. While some might take that progress and think we have reached equality, we have not. To this day, women aren't paid the same as their male counterparts, more men are working in the technology industry as well as other industries, and there is still more to be done globally to improve women's health and education.

This year, the theme for International Women's Day is #ChooseToChallenge. It is important for us all to challenge ourselves because challenges can lead to changes. Here at Wrench, we are choosing to challenge ourselves by thinking about how we already support the women that work for Wrench and how we can support them better from this point on. We know that there is always room for improvement and we want to support all of our employees to the best of our ability.

Women Working At Wrench

We sent out a short survey to all of the women at Wrench to shed light on the challenges they encounter in the workforce, how we support them, and what we can do better from this point on. It is important to celebrate women's hard work and achievements, and the women that work at Wrench deserve to be recognized for all of their hard work and dedication.

What's It Like Working In The Technology Industry?

Our employees have noticed a variety of challenges that come with being a woman in the technology industry. According to Wrench employee, April Garbusjuk, "Like everything, it has its challenges and rewards. One common challenge I still come across today as a woman in leadership is that when I walk into a professional setting, the assumption is usually made that whichever male colleague I am with is my boss, and I'm his subordinate. This literally happens all the time." This is a very common experience with women all over the world and requires awareness in order to create a change. We can all do better to dismantle the stereotypes and societal expectations that we place on women.

Another challenge identified by Wrench employee, Meghan Mosley, is that, "some men believe that women shouldn't have any part of mechanic work. It's definitely changing for the better, though. Especially when companies like Wrench offer technical jobs to all genders to prove everyone is capable of learning the same skills if they put in the work and dedication." The belief that women shouldn't be part of mechanic work is damaging and discouraging. At Wrench, we welcome technicians into our team, no matter their gender or identity as long as they are able to provide the high-quality auto repair and maintenance services that we promise to our customers. Again, we all need to work harder to welcome women into fields in which they have a limited presence and support them so that they have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

With all these challenges, women at Wrench genuinely enjoy their jobs. "I love my job! It is great having knowledge in a field that consists of mostly men," says Wrench employee, Stephanie Marie John. Another Wrench employee, Susie Graefe believes that, "As a woman in the technology and telecommunications field, I feel honored to be able to grow and learn in this exciting environment." Since there is a limited number of women in the tech industry, those who are in it experience a lot of benefits just like the women at Wrench. Whether it is having knowledge that is uncommon for women or being able to work in an exciting and fast-paced industry, the tech industry can be a very fulfilling place for women to work.  

What Does Wrench Do To Support Women?

Here at Wrench, we put in the effort to welcome women onto our team and give them equal opportunities. Many women working at Wrench feel fulfilled in their positions because of our efforts to support them. "Wrench offers jobs to us even if we have limited auto mechanic experience, giving us the opportunity to learn. We are treated equally and very well by Wrench and all its employees" says Meghan Mosley. In the same light, Susie Graefe says, "With the continued education offered by Wrench, any employee has the opportunity to learn new skills and gain any necessary certifications." We fully support the women at Wrench and want to help them grow and become both better at their jobs and more successful in their future endeavors. We want to set up all of our employees with the skills necessary to be the very best versions of themselves.

Not only do we support women by providing them with the opportunity to learn new skills, but we show our support for those that choose to grow their families. April Garbusjuk says," I've had 2 children in my time at Wrench and it was great to see that the men in the office were very supportive of me pumping every 3 hours- whether in a room, at my desk, or even during meetings. It's one of the things I am most proud of with our culture, that we were able to normalize pumping and support breastfeeding mothers."

We encourage everyone at Wrench to be the very best versions of themselves and we are committed to helping all of our employees grow. "Wrench is a place where you can work, and have the chance to do advance yourself if you want to, you can be just like one of the guys. Better yet, you can be yourself," Stephanie Marie John notes.

What Can Wrench Do To Support Women Better?

There is always room for improvement when it comes to supporting women. While it is easy for us to identify what we are doing well, it is important to find ways that we can better support the women working at Wrench. When asking what we can do in the future, there is a common theme among responses that parallel the efforts of International Women's Day. According to Denise Abear, we need to "show photos with women working alongside men." When posting about automotive services, many people expect to see an image of a man. Wrench can work to dismantle that stereotype by advertising women and highlighting the achievements of women within Wrench.

While April Garbusjuk believes that Wrench is doing a lot of good things for working moms, she says, "it would be great if Wrench offered childcare assistance or other perks specifically for working moms." In the workforce, women often struggle juggling their full-time jobs and caring for their children. Giving women resources like childcare would allow them to get back to work and advance in their careers even after having children.

As stated by Meghan Mosley, "Wrench just needs to keep moving in the direction it's going. The more women we are able to inspire and hire onto our team, the more the public opinion of women in the automobile industry will improve." We will continue to support women by providing equal opportunities and raising awareness of the inequalities.

Happy International Women's Day from Wrench!