Items In this category are only available with subscription.
Glossed & Gritty Preview You found the good door. This content is part of the Glossed & Gritty member and subscriber experience, built for Collision DisruptHERs doing the damn thing in the collision repair industry. Create a free account to access member previews and community perks, or log in to continue reading from this page. …
Glossed & Gritty Preview You found the good door. This content is part of the Glossed & Gritty member and subscriber experience, built for Collision DisruptHERs doing the damn thing in the collision repair industry. Create a free account to access member previews and community perks, or log in to continue reading from this page. …
Glossed & Gritty Preview You found the good door. This content is part of the Glossed & Gritty member and subscriber experience, built for Collision DisruptHERs doing the damn thing in the collision repair industry. Create a free account to access member previews and community perks, or log in to continue reading from this page. …
Glossed & Gritty Preview You found the good door. This content is part of the Glossed & Gritty member and subscriber experience, built for Collision DisruptHERs doing the damn thing in the collision repair industry. Create a free account to access member previews and community perks, or log in to continue reading from this page. …
In an industry often defined by grit, grease and a “boy’s club” mentality, Jaime Shewbridge doesn’t just fit in – she stands out as a master of her craft. With a career spanning 33 years, Jaime has evolved from a high school data entry clerk to becoming the first woman to earn all three of I-CAR’s highest instructor honors. A fierce advocate for vocational education, she balances a demanding career as an I-CAR Welding & Hands-on Skills Development instructor with her role in an oversight department for a major insurer.
As we celebrate National Welding Month, Jaime’s story serves as a powerful blueprint for the next generation of tradespeople.
Glossed & Gritty Preview You found the good door. This content is part of the Glossed & Gritty member and subscriber experience, built for Collision DisruptHERs doing the damn thing in the collision repair industry. Create a free account to access member previews and community perks, or log in to continue reading from this page. …
Read more “Industry News: WIN Names Haylie Colby as Inaugural ‘Founding Mothers’ Award’ Recipient”
Sunday, March 29, 2026, 9:57am. I was up until 3am prepping Easter eggs for my 2-year-old to find next weekend – because apparently I like setting myself up for success on something a week in advance mere days before the debut of something huge; completely logical, right? – so I slept in only to wake up in a cold sweat with one word rattling around in my brain like a loose lug nut:
FAILURE.
In roughly 48 hours (give or take a panic spiral), Glossed & Gritty officially launches. I am excited. Ecstatic. Hopeful…and absolutely, completely, borderline-unwell levels of terrified (cue my therapist).
My hands are literally shaking as I type this. That might seem a bit dramatic, but it’s also – unfortunately – completely, totally 100% truthful and accurate.
Revolution (noun): a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system; a sudden, radical or complete change; an activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation.
It’s a bold word. A dangerous word. A word that rattles cages and raises eyebrows.
But here’s the question echoing through shop bays, classrooms and conference halls across the collision repair industry: Do we need a revolution? Or is that a dramatic overreaction to an industry that is already evolving (albeit at the speed of a rusted-out ‘74 Nova)? (Click the Cover Image for Full Article)
Let’s just rip the Band-Aid off: I’m a feminist!
There — I said it. No euphemisms. No softening language like, “I just believe in equality” (although that’s true). No nervous laugh. No “but not like that kind of feminist.” Just…feminist.
It’s funny how a word defined so optimistically — as the “belief in and advocacy for the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” — somehow became more controversial than misogyny itself. Apparently the idea of “equal rights” is more offensive than actual inequality. Make it make sense.
We live in 2026. We have vehicles that can calibrate themselves, scan their own ADAS systems and practically drive us to the grocery store. But say “feminist” in front of a group of men, and suddenly, everyone’s acting like you just keyed their F-150 Raptor! Here’s the truth: feminism is the catalyst behind everything I do here at Glossed & Gritty. It’s the reason I care so deeply about women in collision repair. It’s the reason I get angry (and holy hell, do I get angry). It’s the reason I won’t shut up. And trust me, there have been plenty of moments when that would have been the easier option. (Click the Cover Image for Full Article)
If you knew how much the concept of “frame of mind” affects me from the bottom of my soul, you would probably be surprised. I have been in the collision industry for almost nine years, counting my time as a student. Throughout that time, I have been interviewed numerous times, and there is always that staple question:
“How does it feel to be a woman in the industry?”
For a long time, I never quite understood the question. I wanted everyone to know that I was just fine. I told interviewers the “struggle” was a myth. I often left those conversations feeling as if I had let them down by not sharing a hero’s saga about rising from the ashes like a phoenix.
(Warning: Explicit language – May be offensive to some readers)
Collision repair is the only industry I know, and although I love what I do, I fully realize it’s not pretty for women here. It’s full of double standards, pitfalls and traps. It really sucks to be a woman in this industry a lot of the time.
And it all starts with the messaging we receive about being a woman, especially if we’re going to work in a male-dominated space. We are told to be nice, to get along and earn our place – if we keep our heads down and just do a great job, people will eventually see how wonderful we are.
That’s total bullshit! It’s never going to happen that way. I’m sorry, but we are always going to be women, no matter how much we develop a thick skin, toughen up or just deal with it. That’s what women have been doing for too many years, and has it worked? Hell no! Women don’t need to have a thick skin or accommodate men just because there are more of them in this industry.
In the collision industry, we obsess over “OE Specs.” We verify frame alignment to the millimeter and paint codes to the shade. Yet, we consistently ignore the most critical specification in the shop: the biological spec of the technician.
Working in the shop means exposure to various chemicals — we’re all exposed to potentially hazardous materials through the things we touch and the air we breathe. Paints, adhesives, fillers, solvents and even cleaning products emit VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are absorbed through the skin and inhaled into the lungs. Not exactly breaking news, of course… After all, that’s why safety protocols are broadcast, and wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is an accepted necessity.
But here’s the problem: those protocols meant to protect us are often developed based on standardized test models that do not represent the entire population. Historically, these studies were conducted in male-dominated industries and performed using “average adult body weights, which typically translates to around 175 pounds. This pattern is consistent across most industries, including PPE development, tools and even medical research. Why is this problematic? Well, for starters, women’s lower average body mass means that a similar airborne concentration equates to a higher dose per pound, so being exposed to identical concentrations could be more detrimental. But that’s not the only way that physiology factors into the discussion.