The DfT’s new transport minister, Andrew Jones MP has said that the industry “has some catching up to do” as the number of women working in road transport is “tiny” compared to the number of men.
Jones (pictured) told last week's 2015 FTA Everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards in London that while the number of female drivers has risen from 39,000 to 44,000 since 2013, the number of female directors in transport had dropped from 9,000 to 8,000.
Jones said: "We don’t get enough women seeking a career in transport, and those who do have said progression can be a challenge. That’s bad for women and it’s bad business. To put it starkly, wherever women are excluded, 50% of the available talent is excluded.”
Winners on the day included Independent Freight MD Jenny Hooper, who won the Leader of the Year Award, and Asda warehouse shift manager Joanne Harrison won the Warehousing Award.
Kerryn Headley from Reading Buses took home the Driver of the Year Award - sponsored by Motor Transport - and First Glasgow MD Fiona Kerr was named the 2015 Woman of the Year. See below for the full list of this year's winners:
Woman of the Year – Fiona Kerr, MD First Glasgow
Rising star of the year – Zoe Doubell, project engineer at London Underground
Leader of the year – Jenny Hooper, MD Independent Freight
Team leader of the year – Lt Cdr Elaine Boyd, logistics officer at the Royal Navy
The Warehousing award – Joanne Harrison, Day warehousing shift manager, Asda
Driver of the year – Kerryn Headley, bus driver at Reading Buses
Industry champion award – Nicola Hosty, head of HR support services at Northern Rail
Innovation and sustainability – Zoe Powers, sales and customer relations director at GLH
