UK – It's time again for the annual Women in Logistics (WiL) Award nominations to be announced and the original long list of contenders, built as individuals nominated themselves and their peers, has been whittled down to a shortlist of 12 individuals and two companies as the prize-giving ceremony, to be held on June 15 at the WiL Charity Ball & Awards in Milton Keynes, draws near and the anticipation intensifies.
There will be just four winners across the categories, which celebrate those doing the most to promote diversity across the logistics industry and, once again, judging was led by Richard Wilding, Professor of Supply Chain Strategy at Cranfield School of Management, who had the difficult task of selecting a shortlist, and an overall winner, in each category. Three individuals, named the year's most inspirational Leader, Young Woman and Diversity Champion, and one company, will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony at The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.
The evening’s celebrations will be preceded in the afternoon by a Workshop Inspiring Diversity and Stepping Up, at John Lewis Milton Keynes, close to the site of the Awards which themselves will be followed by the traditional celebratory ball, where logistics professionals can network in relaxed atmosphere, celebrate the year's successes and have fun while raising money for charity. The awards and charity ball will operate in support of the charity Transaid, for which Women in Logistics has raised £40,000 in the past 9 years. Transaid tackles poverty and disadvantage by building transport skills and knowledge to the developing world.
The annual awards and charity ball are organised by Women in Logistics, which was established in 2008 to increase the number of women in the industry, improve life for those women already working in logistics and to address the gender imbalance issue. Melanie Longman, vice chair of Women in Logistics, observed:
"Once more it has been our pleasure to be able to hear from women working in the logistics industry throughout the country about contributions of their own and their peers to progressing this important vision. We have learned there is plenty of enthusiasm and action being taken in the name of diversity and it will be an honour to celebrate those achievements at our prize-giving ceremony."
The nominations in full are:
Leader of the Year Award: Pauline Dawes, SOMI Trailers, Kathryn Lewis, Advanced Supply Chain, Jacqueline O'Donovan, O'Donovan Waste Disposal, Sarah Shaw, University of Hull
Young Woman of the Year Award (under 30), sponsored by DHL: Stephanie Marsh, XPO - Francesca Roberts, Pentalver - Lucy Robson, XPO - Kelly Wilson, Dynamic Medical
Diversity Champion of the Year Award (open to both women and men), sponsored by The Forton Group: Mairead Craig, Expeditors International - Jeny Hanvey, Kuehne + Nagel - Natasha Makhijani, SNAPP CV / Oliver Sanderson - Jennifer Swain, JPS
Company of the Year Award: CCEP (Coca Coca European Partners) and DHL Supply Chain