Kenyan podcaster and digital creator Julia Gaitho has sparked a wave of conversation online after hilariously yet candidly opening up about the unique struggles many single women face when dealing with mechanics, fundis and negotiations in male-dominated spaces.
In a relatable rant shared online, Julia reflected on a recent experience while getting her car repaired, questioning whether mechanics would have treated her differently if she had been accompanied by a man.
“Getting my car fixed. I think that it’s nothing major. I don’t know, sometimes I’m like, is it worth it?” she began.
The podcaster then painted a vivid picture of herself sitting at the garage surrounded by mechanics inspecting her vehicle while she quietly wondered whether she was being taken seriously.
“But I wonder as I’m sitting here in my car with these three mechanics under my bonnet, if I had a guy sitting here with me, if they would respect me more,” she said.
Julia admitted that during the interaction, she felt the mechanics were simplifying explanations unnecessarily and treating her with excessive caution in a way that made her suspicious.
“I can tell that they are dumbing down a lot of the things I’m saying,” she explained.
“You know? They’re dumbing down and they’re also just like really, really gentle with me, which I feel like it’s a good thing, but I’m also just like, are they f***ing with me?”
The creator went on to explain that the uncertainty became even worse after she received a quotation for the repairs and realized the prices differed significantly from the estimates she had received elsewhere.
“They just brought me the quotation of what needs to be done. And I’m like, I spoke to somebody else and they told me it’s literally half the price to get these spare parts,” she said.
The conversation then shifted into a broader reflection about gender, knowledge and perception in society.
“Is it a gender thing or is it a knowledge thing? Because obviously, not all men know about cars. And there are some women out there who know their cars.”
Julia narrated how one of her friends once felt compelled to bring a man along while viewing property outside town because she feared not being taken seriously during negotiations.
“I have a friend who was going to look at a piece of property out of town and she told me she had to go with a guy because she knew the people who she’s meeting with would not take her seriously if she’s going to enter that negotiation by herself,” she shared.
The podcaster then questioned whether this is something many independent women silently deal with on a daily basis.
“And I just wonder, as women who are single and depending on themselves, do you have to do things like this?” she asked.
“Sometimes when I have a fundi coming to the house to do things, I’ll ask a nigga to be in the house so that he can see that there’s someone here,” she said.
According to Julia, the decision is partly about safety but also about avoiding situations where workers exaggerate timelines, inflate costs or fail to take instructions seriously.
“For my safety one and also so that they can stop zungushaing and telling me, ‘Oh, this one will take three days, this one will take four days,’ and we can just take an hour,” she explained humorously.
Julia herself acknowledged this nuance during her reflection, repeatedly questioning whether the problem stems from sexism, lack of expertise or a mix of both.
Still, she admitted that navigating such situations as a woman often requires a level of “code-switching.”
“But also, on the flip side, there are times where you use your vulnerability to your advantage, because at the end of the day, it’s a man’s world,” she said.
“And as women, we have to code switch.”
