Photography Credit: Perry Bennett
Like most of the rest of the world, I recently saw the new “Barbie” movie. If I’m being honest, my wife very much wanted to see the movie, and I figured spending a couple of hours with Margot Robbie, the beautiful Australian actress who plays the lead role, couldn’t be all bad.
The movie does not deal at all with the doll created in 1959 that has been so iconic and, at times, so hated. The film provides a hilarious but searing look at the way women are treated in today’s society.
A few weeks ago, to bring this story back around to the car world, I asked a friend to come over and help me wire my Bugeye Sprite project. He asked if he could bring his wife for the day. Sure, my admittedly rather sexist self said, thinking that she could read a book or hang out with my wife, Margie.
She did no such thing! She dove right in and helped us all day. She tested circuits. She ran wires. And when she came across something she didn’t know, she quickly learned it from her obviously not sexist and very patient husband.
As you might imagine, I felt like a jerk. I did have the guts to apologize–not for what I did, but for what I thought.
This episode, combined with this movie, got me thinking about the place of women in our car world. Very close to home, my wife and partner, Margie, has been enduring jerks like me for 40 years while she quietly and patiently runs our company.
While I’ve had many readers comment that it’s cute that I give Margie credit for helping out, please understand that she, not I, has been running the show. The magazine that you hold in your hand would not exist without this strong business owner who is often ignored when we’re at car events together.
Also right at home, my daughter, Katie, who nearly invented the term “strong, confident woman,” does most of my advertising and event partner detail work so I can screw around with cars most days.
And my daughter-in-law, Nicole, has made our event marketing and circulation marketing a complete success despite what is considered an overall shrinking market. And my niece, Sarah, is responsible for much of the layout and editing of our publications.
Let’s look at the greater world: How many events or programs–related to cars or not–have you enjoyed that didn’t have strong, knowledgeable women running the show? I suspect none.
Women occupy half of the titles on the SCCA national staff directory, while Sandra Button has chaired Pebble Beach, the world’s most prestigious concours, since 2002. The Classic Tire division of Michelin is run by Kim Akers Barnes, the most knowledgeable British car enthusiast I have ever met, while Kim McCullough ran Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota marketing and just signed on to run marketing for SVRA. (Hard to believe she has time for this, as she’s usually too busy rallying classic cars in Africa or showing or judging at the Pebble Beach Concours.)
I made changes and realize that our audience is primarily male, so I ask: What about you?
Follow me through a recent adventure and ask yourself what you would have done. I went to an auto parts store last week. There was a grizzled old guy at one register and a young woman at the other. While I instantly moved toward the guy, I consciously thought better of it and approached the young woman.
What do you know, she understood exactly what I needed: exhaust manifold studs for our Bugeye.
As I’ve said before, while I hate to preach, we as men (especially older men) need to rethink how we see and treat women. And I understand that change and habits are hard to break. But isn’t it time we look at this and try a bit harder?
I am determined to continue learning throughout every day of my life. It certainly is one area of that process.
The family business aspect of GRM is one of my favorite things about it, and one of the things that I talk about when I make a recommendation.
Terrific post Tim. Good on you for recognizing your preconceptions and being willing to address them.
Thank you for posting this!
Everyone, please take a read.
The new counter person at our local auto parts store is young woman fresh out of school. I always go to her because I appreciate the fact that she's there learning an automotive trade and I know she is feeling kind of out of her league. Most of the customers are men and most of them will do their best to avoid dealing with her which can be kind of handy because there is never a lineup at her counter. Those are do are sometimes very condescending and it irritates me. There are things she doesn't know yet but for the most part she's very competent and gets me my parts without any drama.
Nice post. I can say Mrs. NYN doesn't really enjoy the car hobby like I do but she is the leader, the one that keeps my entire family going in the right direction and without her running the show I would never have had the successes in life that I have so far.
Oh and the movie was great, really makes you think about how people are pre-judged
My oldest daughter has been doing her own car repairs for years. Not just oil and tune ups but going as far as transmission replacements. Very proud of her.
I've found that women are better long range planners and ensure execution of everything along the process and steps of the plan. How they manage to do it without a whiteboard in the garage with items written down months ago, that haven't been crossed off, or even started, yet dare not be erased, is beyond me. Guys, well, we'll laser focus on completing a task, possibly a complex or difficult one then bang out chest over the sense of accomplishment, as opposed to realizing that it's merely an single step of the greater process.
I just hope that when more women start taking on larger project vehicles, then when it's time to load them on the trailer they still allow us to strap them down with a half turn in the strap, ratchet tight, give it a good shove and proclaim that it's not going anywhere.
This is a classic case of "don't judge a book by it's cover".
Motorsports and the car hobby are great because they are results orientated. We respect the accomplishments of people regardless of whether or not they are man or woman................period.
One doesn't need a Barbie movie or bias training...................all you need is "don't judge a book by it's cover".
If you do you're likely going to feel very silly later..........
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:I just hope that when more women start taking on larger project vehicles, then when it's time to load them on the trailer they still allow us to strap them down with a half turn in the strap, ratchet tight, give it a good shove and proclaim that it's not going anywhere.
Nice write-up.
I don't think it's an overstatement to say VIR wouldn't even exist today if it wasn't for Connie Nyholm among others.
And my wife, who isn't a "car person," does notice when a F1 broadcast features Bernie Collins' expert commentary, or a camera shows a female engineer or mechanic toiling away on the pit wall or in the garage, right there among the men. Or when I stream the ADAC Nurburgring 24 and they show the all-female Giti Tires team, or the WEC's Iron Dames.
She also perked up during an interview with racer/owner Samantha Tan and Aurora Straus, both of whom (along with Katherine Legge, Christina Nielsen, Taylor Hagler, and too many more) could show this aging duffer the fast way around any track on any day ending in "Y."
That's a lot of words to say ignore the talent at your own risk. The stopwatch doesn't lie.
Drag racing is way ahead for some reason. Since Shirley, women have routinely done extremely well, up to the Angelle, who basically dominated bikes and now Erica Enders, who is looking more and more like she'll have the most Pro Stock championships in history by the time she retires, and Britney Force, along with a bunch of others.
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