It’s always satisfying when two organisations you enjoy working with join forces to make a partnership. That happened this month when Driving for Better Business marked International Women’s Day (8 March) by teaming up with Women in Transport, launching a year of podcasts and features.
Driving for Better Business is a National Highways programme DfBB. It kicked off its partnership with Women in Transport with emails to some of the many women we know to ask if they would take part.
There was the odd ‘must I?’ and ‘what? Little old me?’ response but every single one embraced the idea, recognising it for what it is: a chance to address that fact that women make up 47 per cent of the UK workforce yet remain underrepresented in the transport sector, accounting for only 20 per cent of workers – plus it’s an exciting sector with so many opportunities.
It’s clear that there are talented women at all levels from CEOs of large multinational corporates, national and local government officials, directors of influential safety charities, freelancers, apprentices and everything between and of course we all know that transport – like all areas of life – benefits from a diverse range of influences to best serve everyone.
The first podcast was launched on 8 March with an interview with [WiT member] Anne-Marie Penny leads DfBB and gave an overview of the year. A profile of Emma Wilman, Traffic Officer for National Highways will follow shortly. She’s out in all weathers helping to ensure we all stay safe on the network. Each month, there will be a new podcast and feature: watch out for interviews with other WiT members Paula Claytonsmith Executive Director of Gaist, the fastest growing infrastructure and data transport company in the UK, Dr Suzy Charman, Director of internationally-recognised charity the Road Safety Foundation and many, many more.
Driving for work is one of the highest-risk activities that many employees undertake, whether they drive a commercial vehicle, a company car or make occasional work journeys in their own vehicle. As the gig economy continues to grow, this also means those who ride for work as well as those who drive.
Before the pandemic took hold, there was already an explosion in the number of self-employed start-ups and that trend has continued to grow. It’s well worth using the free tools and resources available through Driving for Better Business.
Women in Transport will be sharing links to all the podcasts and features throughout the year. It would be great to get your feedback and your nominations to raise the visibility of the talent we have at every level of transport from women just starting their career to senior leaders - and to showcase the diversity of opportunity in the transport sector.
Becky Hadley, WiT member and Director of Hadstrong PR, which specialises in the road safety and road transport infrastructure sectors