Sheffield Central Library hosted a packed screening of short film Gwenda’s Garage on Wednesday night, featuring the ground-breaking women-run garage from 1985.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion with LGBTQ+ activists, highlighting the challenges faced by women in the male-dominated automotive industry of the 1980s.
Ros Wollen, one of the garage’s founders, said: “We couldn’t get jobs as women, so we were really forced to set up the garage.”
The film detailed how Wollen, along with Annette Williams and Ros Wall, navigated a landscape of sexism and homophobia as lesbians.
Wollen said: “It was empowering and liberating because I was using my body and my brain.” Wollen emphasised the need to conceal their lesbian identities due to prevailing societal attitudes.
The event sold out almost immediately and underscored the enduring interest in LGBTQ+ women’s history, serving as a powerful reminder of the ongoing fight for gender equality.
She said: “There are two stories in Gwenda’s Garage, one is about what happened in the 80s and how gay rights have changed since Clause 28. I think the other part of the story, and which hasn’t happened, is there is still not women going into non-traditional trades, the actual way of training is stuck completely.”
Wollen established WEST (Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology) in 2010 to address this issue, supporting women in male-dominated fields and encouraging young girls to enter non-traditional roles.
“We want to create an industry which has actually got men and women in it because we won’t change the culture of men unless women are there challenging it.”
Nicky Hallet, creator of the Gwenda’s Garage musical, said: “What I’m interested in doing, is brining those stories out of archives and getting them heard in new ways.”
The musical was performed at the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse in Sheffield in November 2023. Gwenda’s Garage: The Musical, promises to bring their story to a wider audience and has secured 4 weeks performing in London later this year.