Grease monkeys in skirts

MANILA, Philippines - They used to say that auto mechanics was a field designed for men. And even more so, they reckoned that it was something that appealed only to men — except of course, for the occasional female who might actually express some engine-tweaking fondness. Those tomboys. Ahh, yes... isn’t it only in female-objectifying movies such as Charlie’s Angels or Transformers 1 and 2, that anyone ever portrays a female good at fixing cars? Okay, there was The Fast and The Furious. But still, what I’d like to point out is that there has always been a major stereotype that girls don’t dig cars, and even less so, troubleshooting them.

Well, lo and behold… Despite climate change and the slow reversing of the earth’s poles, more and more females are now itching to get into the automotive scene. Yes, even here in the Philippines. There’s no better timely evidence of this phenomenon than the recent graduation of the Isuzu-funded scholars at the TESDA Auto-Mechanic Training Center in Tacloban, Leyte last Nov. 4.

Done in 60 seconds: The students demonstrate their skills.

A total of 25 scholars of this two-year auto mechanic certification course marched to their graduation song that day, and 10 of them were women! And just to throw in some extra drama, can I just point out that their overall top-notcher is a girl? Yes, it was Ms. Jonnalyn Navarrosa who ranked number one in their batch! Three cheers for the lady!

Interviewing her, she said that her parents were very supportive of her pursuit for this NC4 certification — the highest level of auto mechanic training in the country. And when asked whether she ever felt at a disadvantage because she is a female in a male-dominated field, she simply said that it was all about passion and, even if strength is necessary in a lot of auto repair work, we are now blessed with technology that narrows the male advantage of physical power when it comes to auto maintenance and repair.

The Isuzu-TESDA Auto-Mechanic Training Center opened back in 2008 with the help of funding from Isuzu Motors Limited. It offers a fully sponsored two-year technical course for underprivileged but deserving out-of-school youths. And IML chairman Yoshinori Ida has been very hands-on in making sure that the school and its curriculum live up to industry standards.

Perhaps a few years from now, it won’t come as such a surprise to find many more female technicians servicing our vehicles. Grease monkeys in skirts? Well, maybe in jumpsuits.