Maryland woman aims to reshape the local automobile industry
BALTIMORE -- When you're shopping for a car, most of the women you'll find on the lot are customers.
But in Glen Burnie, you'll find Bird Bell Bishop, owner of the well-known dealership Bob Bell Automotive.
For Womens' History Month, Caroline Foreback sat down with Bishop to learn more about what it means to be a female leader in the auto industry.
Bird Bell Bishop said she was "born and raised in the automobile business." She took over Bob Bell automotive a few years after her father passed away in 2011.
"I knew what it meant to him and what his goals were in the industry," Bishop said.
Her father, Bob Bell, started the company in 1979. Bishop said he had a knack for making people feel welcomed and comfortable and always believed customers come first.
"Knowing that buying a car has a reputation to not always be a positive experience but he wanted to make it a positive experience," she said. "So, watching that as a little girl and then hearing him talk when he would come home from work, I knew that being a customer-focused family owned business was a priority to him and to my mom, and that's what I wanted to make sure we were going to uphold, and not lose that when we lost him."
Bishop said her goal was to work on the culture—with the idea that if the company takes care of the employees, they will take good care of the customers.
"I just have a completely different perspective in this industry, that's what I brought—more empathy and compassion, and understanding the importance of internal culture," Bishop said. "I think that's what was missing before."
Bishop now oversees more than 400 employees. She said she doesn't dwell on the fact that most of them are men.
"I don't think about it," she said. "I don't feel it's an obstacle. It's a challenge."
Bishop said that as a woman coming into a male-dominated industry, she had to have patience and be willing to learn from those who came before her.
"It's not as bad as it used to be, but there's clearly an old boy network. It still exists," she said. "Don't come in defensive, don't come in ready to fight—just come in ready to prove your value."
Bishop said it's important for her daughter and her sons to watch her take on this challenge and to see a woman in this role. She said she hopes her presence as a leader in the auto industry encourages women to consider this as a potential career.
"This industry can be a lot of fun," she said. "It's very demanding, but I love it, and I hope that passion maybe entices women to consider jumping in one day."