For International Women’s Day 2024, we interviewed each of our women at CCM. To learn more about them, their past and how they find working in this automotive arena.
Dive into the world of cars with Kara, our youngest Service Advisor! Passionate about her Mazda MX5, Kara has made remarkable strides since joining.
Watch the video of all our lovely ladies below, or read Kara’s transcript below.
Kara, tell me a bit about yourself.
My name is Kara, I’m 23 and I’m one of the service advisors here at CCM. I’ve worked in customer service for about six years and I’ve been with CCM for a year.
And what did you dream of doing when you were a little girl?
Growing up I was always in dance, I’ve always danced. So I’ve always dreamt of being in theatre or on television so, something out with Mamma Mia would have been perfect!
Do you find it difficult to get involved or integrate yourself in such a male-dominated field?
There’s always that thought at the back of your head cause you know, will I fit in and everything like that. But I have been lucky enough since working here that I’ve never really had to deal with anything like that especially due to my age. They all took me under their wing and that allowed me to flourish and and enjoy myself
Do you feel supported in your career goals here?
One hundred percent. If I ever or if there’s anything that I would like to do to progress in my career or anything like that my manager Tina would definitely do anything in her power to try and make it happen so absolutely, yes.
Have you heard of International Women's Day before?
I have yes, mainly on social media obviously, I’m of that generation haha. But I have now seen that it is more of a common thing within workplaces to celebrate.
Do you have any women in your life who inspire you?
Definitely yes. For me, particularly my late nan. She was my role model growing up as I spent a lot of my childhood with her. She taught me a lot of things, she’s a very wise, very wise woman she was. And also my girls. They are definitely ones to keep me in check and will always try and guide me in the right direction even if I don’t really listen to them sometimes. But yeah thanks girls haha!
Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman?
Yeah definitely. Particularly for me again, being a young female I think a lot of people perceive me as naive. That comes straight off the bat and yeah, I have had times where you know, I’ve been discriminated against because of that. I’ve had a lot of things said to me like sexual. I’ve had provocative comments, and I have had some manual handling at times which obviously makes me very uncomfortable. I’ve also kind of been made to feel that you know, it’s a it’s a man’s job and a woman, a woman can’t do that.
This year's International Women's Day theme is #InspireInclusion. What does this mean to you?
To me, inclusion means that everybody plays a part. Everybody is on the same level whether you’re male or female. Everybody should be treated the exact same. Us women have successes that may be perceived as better than men but then also we should celebrate the male side of things as well. But obviously, us females can do it just as well as them.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start a career in automotive?
Coming from a background of enjoyment in cars and wanting to be in the automotive industry from a very young age, I was never really given any advice at all. But all I would say for anybody that would like to either get into the technical side of things or from the service side of things as well, do it. You know there will be challenges and I’ve had girls ask me what’s it like working in the garage. I’ve always given them the truthful response of I really enjoy it but you will, I’m not saying that I’m lucky where I am, but you will face some challenges. All I say is if you don’t succeed and they don’t want you, they don’t deserve you anyway.