LOOKING around Automotion, the car parts shop in Clitheroe town centre, the shelves are filled with oil, bulbs and batteries.

It has all the markings of a male dominated world but strangely enough it has a woman’s touch.

With fresh flowers on the counter and neat and tidy shelves, the atmosphere is calm and more organised to what you would normally expect from the motor industry.

But this is a woman’s world, according to manager Julie Watson, who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty as she fronts the showroom looking as feminine as ever with a flower in her hair.

But it wasn’t as easy as it looks for the 52-year-old, who celebrates 35 years in the motor industry this year. She admits it took her a while to gain respect working in a male-dominated environment.

Julie, who took over the Highfield Road store in 2001 said: “I could see that men didn’t really want to ask for my advice when they were choosing parts for a bike or car.

“And there have been a couple of times when they have asked to see the manager or they have waited around to be served by a male colleague.”

The former PA started in the motor industry at the age of 17 and has always had the ambition to own her own business. And even though she chose this path, Julie insists that she can still be a ‘girlie girl’ despite spending her days selling car light bulbs and windscreen wiper blades.

She said: “I can still be me. The main problem is that too many people think that women should work in a nail shop or a hairdressers.

“I think more women should get involved within the automotive industry, but they may be scared as it’s still viewed as a male dominated environment.

“I have had to work hard to prove myself and have been lucky to earn my place, everything has come together and I have learned so much.”

Although the majority of men shy away from being served by a woman, on the flip-side Julie said that she has noticed that a lot of ladies who call into the Highfield Road store feel more comfortable being advised by a woman.

“I do feel that women generally feel more comfortable approaching me, also children are at ease when I am helping with a crash helmet or a cycle sale.

“I think it’s nice that female customers can ask another female for advice, it makes them feel comfortable. They don’t really get this kind of service anywhere else because it is not something women usually specialise in.”

And the grandmother-of-two, who employs two other male workers at Automotion, said when she took on the role her three daughters and her late father Reg, were over the moon.

“My family have been really supportive since I took on the business, and so was my dad.

“No matter what I did or what career path I chose, he was always so proud of me, and when I told him I was coming into this industry he would say, ‘That’s my girl!’”