Transport secretary says it's time for sector to be rid of outdated gender stereotypes

It’s time the transport sector eliminate the “outdated stereotypes” around gender and job roles, according to transport secretary Chris Grayling.

Speaking at the 2018 FTA Everywoman in Transport and Logistics awards in London, Grayling said:  “It’s more essential than ever that we celebrate the inspiring woman that provide leadership in the transport sector”.

“We have to consign to history the outdated stereotypes of what constitutes a man’s role or a woman’s role in a transport career. What we should be doing is highlighting what ambitious women can achieve in this sector,” he added.

The MP for Epsom and Ewell praised the Everywoman event, and said that their success “is clear evidence of the success women have made in awards in recent years.”

However Grayling added that the sector still has a way to go to; despite women representing 42% of the UK workforce, he said, just 22% of the transport sector is female.

“Within freight and logistics the picture’s even less encouraging at only around 10%,” he added.

Grayling said these figures give “a sense of the challenges ahead”, and that the answer lies in the sector being “bold and ambitious” in the way it attracts and develops its women.

He said: “This is a world where you can make a huge amount of difference to huge numbers of people and we have to excite those younger generation of potential recruits and leaders, and people that could be the future drivers of the sector.”

The annual awards at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square saw women from operators including DHL Supply Chain and DB Cargo honoured for their work as leaders and for going above and beyond what is expected of their role.