Launch of the Wales Region of Women in Bus and Coach
This blog is written by Michelle Clarke, our Depty Director for Wales
“By supporting women in our sector, we ultimately strengthen our operations. When we work inclusively, we make better decisions.”
Listening to the opening words from Laura Hadzik, Chair of Women in Bus and Coach (WiBC) at the launch of the new Wales Region group, I reflected on the many brilliant women I meet every day working in the community transport sector. Women who are running CT services, driving vehicles and supporting passengers, ensuring transport operations run efficiently, and playing active roles on trustee boards.
Only around 10% of people who work in the bus industry are women. The community transport sector is very different. Although we lack statistics around this, my impression is that there is a significantly higher percentage of women working in CT. One of the reasons why I got involved in WiBC Wales Region is because there is such an inspiring story to tell about the women in our sector. We need to celebrate and share our strengths and work with others to increase support, representation and opportunities for women across the wider transport sector.
Working with Madeleine Goodson, Senior Project Manager at Transport for Wales and Chair of the new WiBC Wales Region, I’ve taken on the role of Deputy Chair, and we are both looking forward to developing the Wales Region activities following a successful launch held on 8th May at Transport for Wales’ offices in Pontypridd.
Thank you to Sacha Petrie, manager of Taith Community Transport service at Awel Aman Tawe, who provided significant support in planning the launch event, alongside Lucinda Morgan, Communications Business Partner, at Transport for Wales. Thank you also to the brilliant Panel members for their thoughtful insights and ideas: Gemma Lelliott, CTA Director for Wales; Christina Christie, Community Transport Development Officer at Swansea Community and Voluntary Services; Cerianne Cullen, General Manager at Adventure Travel; and Laurence Jenkins, Finance Director at Reading Buses and Director of Women in Bus and Coach.
A few takeaways from the launch event include:
- we need to create more opportunities and pathways for women, which could include leadership training, careers advice and flexible working arrangements
- the visibility gap needs to be addressed through showcasing women’s stories and achievements across the bus, coach and CT sector
- a question to ask ourselves is ‘are we doing enough to recruit, train and support women into leadership positions?’
- mentorship, whether informal or formal, can have an incredibly powerful effect and shape women’s experiences of their leadership journeys, and we would like to explore this further. It was brilliant to hear the four Panel members share their personal experiences of how women mentors helped them to realise their potential when perhaps they didn’t yet see it themselves
- allies matter enormously – WiBC is for everyone and it is all about creating a culture where change can happen and where everyone plays their part
Sitting in the room in Pontypridd, looking around at the faces of the women and allies, it was clear that a movement was forming, one which will highlight our strength, passion and connection and, above all, our commitment to uplift and support others.
It seems apt to end on another quote, this time by Michelle Obama, who said “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
I hope you’ll join us on this journey.
You can sign up to updates from WiBC here.