Honouring Women in Logistics

Haulage has long been an industry chiefly associated with male workers. The image of the trucker, synonymous with the entire logistics industry in the public mind, is itself almost a by-word for masculinity. However, as any experienced haulage worker will attest, the all-too-common image of the logistics industry as an entirely male industry is simply not accurate. That’s why, for the past nine years, the FTA has worked with everywoman in order to bring us the FTA everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards.

What Are the Awards?

The awards have been developed by everywoman in conjunction with the FTA. Everywoman is an organisation founded in 1999, whose aim is to promote recognition of the labour and achievements of women in business, as well as to raise awareness of the range of different jobs available in certain industries, particularly among female audiences. The FTA everywoman awards have been going for nine years now, with their first iteration being in 2007.

The awards nominate women in industry categories such as the Innovation and Sustainability Award, the Rising Star Award, and the top prize, the Woman of the Year Award. There are eight categories, each of which represent an accolade awarded to a woman who has great achievements within the haulage industry (or, in the case of the Industry Champion award, a person of any gender who has done good work in bringing women into the industry and representing their interests).

This Year’s Awards

This year’s winners have recently been announced in a ceremony that took place on the 26th May. Among those women honoured in the 2016 awards are Kirsty Sando, whose excellent driving and managerial skills saw her named Driver of the Year; Wendy Findlay, who was successful in her nomination for Team Leader of the Year; and TFL’s Jo Field, who was crowned Industry Champion. The award for Woman of the Year went to Caroline Rose, who heads regional operations at TNT Express. Rose was congratulated by Karen Gill MBE and Maxine Benson MBE (the founders of everywoman), as well as FTA Chief Executive David Wells, who praised Rose’s vision as well as her impeccable credentials.

The panel went on to admire the skill and dedication of the women who won the remaining four titles, highlighting not only the range of different roles available in the haulage industry but also the indispensability of women to the continued operation of logistics in the UK and all over the world.

What Next?

The FTA everywoman Awards is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary next year, so be ready to nominate those you feel deserve the accolade. Nominations are likely to open around the beginning of December and continue for three months or so, and the ceremony will likely occur in late May with another set of awards, valuing the great achievements of those working in the UK logistics industry.