Maxine Benson MBE, co-founder of everywoman, talks about the future of the industry and the 2024 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards.
We are fast approaching our 2024 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards ceremony, and it’s hard to believe it will be our 17th awards in this programme. The awards were launched to celebrate the vital contribution women make in the industry, showcase success stories, shift perceptions, and create role models to attract future female talent who may not see the industry as an option to them. By doing this, the awards play an important role in showcasing the varied and increasing avenues of opportunities available in the traditionally male-dominated industry. Whether that’s in distribution, technical and operational roles, from apprentice to senior leader, and across the breadth of sectors such as freight and retail to automotive, maritime and air transport.
Despite industry progress, only 23% of the industry’s 1.5 million employees identify as women, more than half of these women are in non-transport roles, and alarmingly 54% of organisations lack formal targets, commitments, or quotas for gender diversity.
Studies consistently demonstrate that diverse teams foster greater creativity, problem-solving abilities, employee engagement, and overall profitability within organisations. Attracting, retaining, and advancing women has the power to fuel progress, unlock innovation and drive growth, not just for organisations but for the UK economy.
In everywoman’s recent report, in collaboration with Bupa, we asked women in a male-dominated domain about the impact of working in a field with a lack of accessible, diverse, and visible female role models. It revealed that this can not only cause women to question whether it is possible to progress but also hinder their access to mentorship and guidance, exacerbating the challenge of navigating an industry in which they are under-represented.
The report also demonstrated that women in male-dominated domains benefit greatly from gender-specific learning and development topics dealing with imposter syndrome, challenging micro aggressions, and becoming more visible. In response to that everywoman continues to build our portfolio of training topics to address these needs, with over 90 topics on offer.
We will continue to do our part in both supporting more women in business by providing relevant leadership development and training, access to role models and networking, and by celebrating their achievements at our awards.
Working within a male-dominated domain, a lack of visible female role models and not equipping your female talent with the tools needed to navigate this through learning and development, creates an environment where their success and their view of what is possible, is hindered.
There needs to be an urgent intervention to be taken to strengthen the talent pipeline, increase female participation in every job function and build the cultures of diversity and inclusion to improve business collaboration, productivity, and performance, that are so important to both personal and organisational success.
Last summer, the awards welcomed over 450 delegates to the ceremony, and we cannot wait to welcome this year’s finalists, winners and industry stars at our new location, the Park Plaza London Riverbank. This year’s winners will be announced at the awards ceremony and luncheon held on 27th June 2024.
For further information, or to book tickets for this networking event and celebration, visit www.everywoman.com/tlawards.
Or to book places for your future female talent on everywoman’s leadership programmes, visit www.everywoman.com/leadership-training-portfolio.
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