JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When you drive into a mechanic shop, more than likely you’re going to see a handful of men working on cars and behind the counter, and the only women around will be customers.
Melissa Pitman wants to change that.
Pittman owns Truth Auto Repair near the intersection of University Boulevard and Philips Highway.
She was once a corporate professional, but she turned the challenging economic downturn into a chance to shift gears into a male-dominated industry.
“At the end of the day, it was curiosity,” Pittman said. “I did have a corporate career before getting into this industry, but like many Americans, the recession hit, and we all were looking for jobs.”
As a single mother who was brand-new in town, Pittman said she needed to find someone reliable to work on her vehicle.
Like many women, she felt a sense of uneasiness in auto shops.
But she realized there was an opportunity there.
“I wanted to know how a car works, you know, what makes it run,” Pittman said.
So she decided to learn.
“For me, coming into this industry, you have to work hard. You have to know what you are talking about,” Pittman said.
Then her part-time job revved up into a full-time career, and now she’s steering her own path in a male-dominated industry, making sure other women don’t experience the same sense of unease when they seek out auto repairs.
“One of the great things about being a woman in a male-dominated industry is that you do have those female customers that come in and they breathe a sigh of relief saying, ‘OK, you’re going to understand what I’m going through and where I am coming from,‘” Pitman said with a laugh.
Pittman’s goal is to drive change and make women in auto repair the norm, not the exception.
She’s passionate about educating women and young ladies, showing them that the sky is the limit.
“That’s what I try to let young ladies know,” Pittman said. “I have a daughter as well now, so I want her to know she can be strong, she can be independent; she can break those barriers.”
