Introducing the 2024 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards Woman of the Year and category winners
The 2024 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Award winners were announced at the awards ceremony and luncheon held at the London Park Plaza Riverbank. The Awards were the largest to date, attended by over 480 industry leaders, and celebrated over 60 finalists and 17 winners. Now in their 17th year, the awards were launched to shine a spotlight on the varied and increasing avenues of opportunities available in the traditionally male-dominated industry and celebrate the vital role that women play within it. Despite progress, only 23% of the industry’s 1.5million 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.[1]
Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman said: “Studies consistently demonstrate that diverse teams foster greater creativity, problem-solving abilities, employee engagement, and overall profitability within organizations. The economic benefits of equalising the labour force could lead to potential gains of 10% of GDP by 2030.[2] 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. Now in our 25th year, everywoman continues to play a significant part in recognising exceptional women whose innovation, skills, resilience, and leadership will inspire future generations of women to fulfil their career ambitions in vibrant and dynamic industries.”
The everywoman Woman of the Year Award was awarded to Sarah-May Harrison, Operations Supervisor at FedEx Express, from Lancashire. Starting her career at just 16, Sarah-May has navigated numerous challenges in a male-dominated industry with outstanding professionalism and resilience. Her journey is marked by remarkable achievements; launching a dedicated data capture centre which led to a company saving of £1.5 million in its first year, pursuing her HGV license and through FedEx’s Women’s Inclusive Network. She’s used her unique talent, British Sign Language and as a Registered Sign Language Interpreter, to have a tremendous impact on the deaf community. In 2023 she shared a video of herself signing BSL greetings, reaching 540,000 people globally with an incredible 70.41% engagement rate. The Judges praised Sarah-May’s dedication to dismantling barriers and finding new ways to integrate technology to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Speaking about the award, Sarah-May Harrison added: “The awards ceremony was a fantastic event, a day full of amazing women championing other women. It still feels surreal that I was named ‘Woman of the Year’. I’m a sibling of a Deaf adult and am so pleased the judges recognised British Sign Language and how important inclusion is. I’m proud to be a BSL ally within the Transport & Logistics industry and hope businesses within the sector will do more to attract and employ Deaf women. My husband Rob & son Noah were sightseeing in London for the day but when they found out I’d won they were able to come in at the end of the ceremony to celebrate with me. I think it’s so important for young children to see women breaking stereotypes and removing barriers – especially in a traditionally male dominated industry.”
Maxine Benson MBE added: “As an industry embedded in every aspect of our lives and businesses, it’s paramount that female talent is attracted and utilise the untapped potential of women in the industry, but also retain a diverse workforce to improve business collaboration, productivity, and performance. We will continue to do our part in both supporting more women in business aby providing relevant leadership development and training, access to role models and networking, and by celebrating their achievements at our Awards.”
For more information about the other winners or to register your interest in the 2025 everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards, visit www.everywoman.com/tlawards.
[2] The Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy (TISS) 2016
Comments are closed.