06 Mar 2014
Posted by Miriam O'Neill 
We’ve only received one female applicant for the position of AA Patrol within the last 15 years
This week we thought we’d join in the conversation surrounding International Women’s Day on March 8th which celebrates the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing world attention on areas requiring further action. We’re a far cry from Saudi Arabia where women aren’t allowed to drive, but there’s definitely a massive gender imbalance when it comes to certain professions such as mechanics, plumbers, electricians and so.
We employ hundreds of mechanics and home emergency engineers and despite our eagerness to address the sex imbalance that exists within these business areas we very rarely receive applications from females when vacancies do arise. In fact we’ve received only one female applicant for the position of AA Patrol within the last 15 years.
The shortage of female applicants in these disciplines is not unique to Ireland. Female Patrols and home emergency engineers are few and far between across the pond in the AA’s UK operation too. Right around Europe our colleague-organisations report a similar pattern. Last September marked the 25th anniversary of the AA’s first female Patrol in the UK, when a then 21 year old Georgina King joined the force. While keen to attract more women into our front line roles a quarter of a century on, in the UK there is only one female roadside Patrol, 6 other female technicians and one female AA Home Emergency Service plumber.
“It is hard to know why this should be apart from tradition and culture.” Says Conor Faughnan, the AA’s Director of Consumer Affairs. “Issues like relative physical strength are not so significant these days with modern equipment. I think a lot needs to be done to change the idea that these are masculine roles. Other professional disciplines like medicine and law were once utterly male-dominated but have matured enormously and are vastly more democratic today. If we are honest, that is just not as true for mechanics and automotive engineers.
Things have moved on a lot from “Mad men times” when women were more likely to be seen sprawled scantily clad across the bonnet than underneath in their overalls. However it is still the case that for a woman to become a mechanic she must overcome stereo-types and swim against the tide.
Quite apart from professional qualifications, even in everyday life our research shows a profound difference in attitude and interest between males and females. An analysis of our roadside rescue data for example shows that women are 2.5 times more likely than men to call them to assist with a flat tyre. However we have to admit that wheel nuts that are machine tightened can be all but impossible for a man or woman to loosen.
“It is something of an in-joke for us that men will very rarely admit that they can’t change a wheel.” Says Faughnan. “They will always say there is a problem with their jack or a locking-nut or something. Women are not remotely embarrassed to say that they just don’t know how to do it. Even that is a sexual stereo-type in itself but it does hold true.”
Men are also significantly more likely than women to pop their bonnets and do basic maintenance work on their vehicle such as checking oil and coolant levels according to our research.
Further research we carried out last year in connection with our home emergency response offering suggests that men are three times more likely to do the maintenance around their homes than women. Of the sample of 7,500 people we surveyed , 80% of the men compared to 25% of the women said they do most of the DIY. This compares to 88% of women and 56% of men polled who said they do most of the housework in their homes.
We also quizzed poll respondents on their ability to perform a list of 17 basic home maintenance tasks ranging from unblocking a sink to wallpapering.
“The results were very telling.” Says Faughnan “For every task we listed, women lagged far behind men in terms of their confidence and general know how. Yet we know that there is absolutely no scientific or physiological reason why this should be true. We can’t claim that the AA knows the answers but we can all reflect on it. Even for children in the 21st century, a little girl is far less likely to be given a toy tool set to play with and so on.”
