When it comes to buying a car or having it repaired, some women hide, sending a male instead to avoid being duped or disrespected. But in what is largely considered a man’s world, Kathleen Callahan embraces standing out.

Callahan, 50, has owned Xpertech Auto Repair in Englewood for 20 years. In 2003, she and her then-husband bought the shop, and she “did the accounts and H.R.” In 2005, she became the sole owner following a divorce.

In a ranking of states with the most auto repair shops, Florida is among the top three, but only about 10 percent of people who work in the industry are women. Callahan has 10 employees, and the women outnumber the men. “My greeter is a woman and two female service advisers explain to customers what’s wrong with their vehicle,” she says. “For now, the technicians are men.” A woman technician who worked at Xpertech recently moved out of state, and Callahan says she reached out to the woman’s new employer. “We made calls to make sure they would take care and not belittle her, because that’s the reality for a green female tech,” Callahan says. “That’s why they’re harder to come by.”

After Callahan took ownership of the shop, she faced some uphill battles. “I would greet people and hear, ‘I’d like to speak to someone who knows something,’” she says. “Respectfully, I’d answer that I owned the place and might know a couple things.” Although the culture is changing, Callahan says she’s still assumed to be “just the wife” at trade shows, and is still often overlooked. “It’s simply discrimination,” she says.

But Callahan is a force for change. She recently testified on Capitol Hill in support of legislation prohibiting car manufacturers from limiting consumer access to car repair information and forcing consumers into proprietary dealerships. Gatekeeping that information could put independent shops, like hers, out of business.

In 2020, she also became a coach to help other shop owners improve their workplace culture and increase their bottom line. A monthly column she pens for the magazine Ratchet + Wrench reiterates those points for readers.

“We take care of one of people’s biggest investments,” she says. “A car means independence and access to work.” To fellow shop owners, she says, “Don’t be afraid to hire a woman. They already ‘speak people.’ You can teach how to ‘speak car.’”

The work is fulfilling, and it’s also lucrative. “Techs can make between $80,000 and more than six figures a year,” Callahan says. “The work is pandemic-resistant and economy-proof. I never would have said it 25 years ago, but it’s a great industry.”