Masika Green
WinA Member of the Month
This month, we are featuring Masika Green.
Masika tells us about her current role as a Service Manager with Tilford Auto Group at the new Cambridge Express Service Centre, her exciting achievements and experiences as a women in the automotive industry.
Know of someone you would like to see featured as our next Women in Automotive Member of the Month, or interested in sharing your own automotive story? Get in touch below and let us know.
Tell us a bit about your current role or involvement in the automotive industry.
I am a Service Manager with Tilford Auto Group at the new Cambridge Express Service Centre and manage one fully qualified technician and two apprentices. I am also a qualified motorcycle mechanic and have been working in the automotive industry since 2018.
What was your first professional experience within the automotive industry?
My first professional experience was when I did work experience at the local Can-am/KTM dealership while I was enrolled in an automotive course during high school in 2017.
Do you think you have experienced challenges within the industry that your male counterparts have not?
I think the biggest and most obvious challenge I have faced being female in a male-dominated industry is the expectations people have of me, or lack thereof. Not just the people that I have worked in the industry, but mostly customers, who at times can be the most judgmental.
What is your biggest achievement within the automotive industry, personal or professional?
I consider my biggest achievements so far to be my current role at Tilford and being a part of the company’s growth, as well as winning the Ulysses Apprentice Motorcycle Mechanic of The Year award in 2021 for the Tasmania and Victoria zone which allowed me to be in the running to win the national award.
Do you have a favourite resource as a woman working in the automotive industry? Maybe a book, event, organisation, mentor, or online platform?
My favourite resources for information would be the internet or a man I used to work with named Milton. Milton had a huge impact on my day-to-day life as an apprentice and taught me so much. To this day, even when I’m in a pickle, he teaches me new things when I ask.
Who is your inspiration as a female in automotive?
I think I’m my own inspiration as I have overcome a lot of challenges I have faced. I’m constantly trying to be better by improving my skills and experience and take new opportunities where I can, and this is something I’m proud of. I aspire to be better than I was yesterday and often like to reflect on how far I have come along the way.
What is the best piece of advice that you have received or that you could give to another woman working in the automotive industry?
Think like a man. Be a man. If the males in the workplace are throwing banter your way don’t take it to heart. Give it back to them because it means they are trying to include you and, more often than not, it’s their way of starting conversation.