Honouring our Inspiring Automotive Women Award Winners who are “Lifting others as they rise”

The Inspiring Automotive Women Awards ceremony did not disappoint! The evening took place at the prestigious RAC Club in London on Thursday the 3rd of October with 120 guests joining our 31 winners for an evening of fine dining, celebration and recognition of our award winners’ achievements.

The awards, proudly brought to you by the UK Automotive 30% Club, were inspired by the women UK Automotive 30% Club founder Julia Muir worked with when she first joined the motor trade. She launched the awards to celebrate and recognise the unsung heroes of our industry. Julia comments: “Often their valuable contribution is appreciated and acknowledged within their own teams or by customers, but they are rarely given the public recognition that they deserve for their efforts to create a positive working environment. I want to honour these brilliant women who are ”lifting others as they rise” and make them visible. 

She continued: “All of our fabulous award winners have demonstrated that they are making a significant contribution to their business. However, they are also committed to inspiring other women to progress or encouraging leaders to create inclusive working environments within which women will thrive, and they are personally involved in activities to show that the automotive sector is a positive career choice for women.”

Following Julia’s inspiring welcome,  Simone Roche MBE, CEO of Northern Power Women and a member of our independent judging panel took to the stage. Simone spoke on behalf of the judging panel about the judging process and revealed how overwhelmed they all were with the quality of the nominations received. She also expressed how important these types of awards are: “The Inspiring Automotive Women Awards are a great initiative as this highlights the importance of diverse and inclusive recognition in the automotive industry, business benefits and they are a fantastic way to celebrate women working in the sector.” 

Julia then welcomed each of the Inspiring Automotive Women Award winners to stage to accept their awards as each and every guest proudly cheered in celebration of their achievements.

Paula Cooper, Director ConsumerOne, Toyota GB Plc, was named as our overall Inspiring Automotive Woman of the Year 2019. She was joined on stage by our Highly Commended winners, Le Etta Pearce, CEO Dealer Auction and Diane Mulholland, Director Enterprise Holdings Scotland & Northern Ireland, and Trailblazer Award Winner Georgina Slack, Specialist Technician at JCT600 Brooklands Ferrari/Maserati. We all enjoyed hearing their reactions to receiving their awards in a conversation hosted by Julia. You will be able to read about their thoughts and opinions in the coming weeks  via the Inspiring E-Zine!

Julia gave special recognition to Paul Van Der Burgh, President and MD at Toyota GB Plc and Neil Williamson, CEO Jardine Motor Group for the fantastic support they have shown for all of the UK Automotive 30% Club activities and the “30 by 30” strategy. Such male advocates are critical to create a better gender balance within the automotive industry.

Paul Van der Burgh commented: “I’m honoured to receive this award, but the real winners who deserve the spotlight are all the women who have taken part in the inaugural Inspiring Automotive Women programme. My warmest congratulations to Paula, Rachel and Emma and Marie, and to all of the women whose great work has been recognised. Their dedication and their achievements in their chosen careers illustrate perfectly the invaluable contribution women can make in our industry today. I will continue to work to provide greater opportunities for women to succeed and prosper, supporting excellent ambitions of the UK Automotive 30% Club.”

Following the close of the ceremony, our guests enjoyed an evening of music, socialising and making good use of our photo booth! 

We’re delighted to confirm that the Inspiring Automotive Women Awards will return next year, so please do look out for further information in the early spring. Is it too soon to be THIS excited for our 2020 awards?!

Clare Martin, Group HR Director, Jardine Motors Group comments on the evening’s event: “As one of the first members of the UK Automotive 30% Club, it’s an honour for us to now be sponsors of the first-ever Inspiring Automotive Women awards. A huge congratulations to all the winners; to be recognised from hundreds of entries as the Top 31 is a significant achievement that shouldn’t be under-estimated.  I hope that all the winners are proud to shout about their brilliance to help encourage even more women to be put forward next year.”

We would like to say a special congratulations to all of our Inspiring Automotive Women Award Winners (to see the full list please click here), and a very special thank you to the Awards Sponsor Jardine Motors Group, Awards Dinner Supporting Sponsors; Toyota GB Plc, CDK and Bentley Motors Ltd, and our Awards Dinner Supporters, Facebook and Hearst Publications.