It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot over the last few weeks about women and awards : Are we scared of awards?
Or is it just me?
Ok, I’d better confess; I have never entered for an award in my life. I’m not sure why not but somehow the thought has just never crossed my mind. It’s not for want of encouragement, certainly latterly, as several people have suggested I give it a go. Are women scared of entering awards, or is it just me?
I am ashamed to tell you that my first thought is when someone says ‘why don’t you…?’ is ‘No one will think I’m good enough’. I know! Me, who writes about encouraging and empowering women to push their boundaries is running scared of entering for an award!
Women And Awards At The Bath Life Awards
My attitude first began to change when my son, one half of the talented NewOldFriends (yes, he’s my son but they are genuinely very talented) was up for an award in Bath. Heather (the other half) couldn’t go as they have a new baby at home (I offered to babysit but sadly I can’t breastfeed), so Feargus took his Mum with him. It was my first real grown up event since the pandemic and I had a whale of a time.
On our table, as well as the organiser, Greg Ingham, were three teams of women from independent businesses in Bath, At The Core, If The Shoe Fits, and Planty Kate. These were certainly not women scared of awards. I got chatting to them about why they entered and of course, they told me how good it was for business. I was fascinated. In the event, none of them won in their category, this time, but all had found the experience helpful in thinking about their business, and enjoyable. Plus, they got some valuable publicity in the Bath Life magazine.
Asking The Question – Are We Scared of Awards?
So, once I’d got home and peeled myself out of my party frock, I went to my favourite source and asked on LinkedIn about women and awards.
Last night I was at the Bath Life Awards in the Assembly Rooms. I’ve never really thought much about the value of awards (apart from when Jane Weaver won director of the year at Everywoman and mentioned RenewYou in her speech). But last night was interesting, not least for the number of women receiving awards and the obvious boost to their confidence. Oh, and my son won, too, in the Arts category.
How many of you have entered for awards? Was it a positive experience?
I had a few replies, including one from Ruth Waring, which was so interesting and helpful that I knew I had to find out more. I interviewed her specifically about women and awards.
Women in Logistics
Ruth, we first met decades ago, at a Women in Logistics event. At the time I barely knew what logistics was; I definitely do now, partly thanks to having worked with your friend and colleague Claire Bottle, another inspirational woman. I know you to be a woman who is definitely not scared of awards. But first, what is your current role?
I am Compliance Director at Acumen Logistics Group, an automotive logistics specialist. I look after all the transport compliance aspects for over 100 vehicles and drivers, as well as being the resident Customs expert, insurance guru, Health and Safety expert, ISO lead and a few other exciting things. Those figures include over 50 car transporters, so it does get interesting. I also run my own consultancy business offering these services to external clients.
You have been a pioneer of getting more women into logistics roles. Has the situation improved significantly?
It feels like it is getting a bit better, but to be honest we don’t really know. The received wisdom is that women make up about 20% of all employees in logistics and female drivers are still between 1-2%. I have been in the profession since 1989 and it is definitely more female-friendly now, but the situation in road haulage is still very old-fashioned.
I am still questioning pictures of 5 new apprentices on LinkedIn who are all male (#wherearethewomen?) or calling out all male panel discussions. There seems to be a lack of industry self-awareness as to how bad the situation still is.
Advice to Future Logisticians
What advice would you give to women looking for a career in logistics?
I would always recommend logistics as a career to women as it is a fascinating career path with good earning potential, but I would caveat it with the usual things. Prepare to be thick-skinned, don’t ask for special treatment, and remember your colleagues have no idea how hard it is for you being in the extreme minority. Pretend your car has broken down rather than saying you had childcare issues if you’re late.
The usual stuff. It sounds cynical but we are not where we need to be yet. It is important to say that not all companies are like this, but my experience has been that it is hard, especially if you want children. The good thing is that you get taken more seriously as you get older. And your kids grow up! I have two children (with short maternity leaves) so I have experienced a broad spectrum of – let’s be polite – misogynistic attitudes.
LinkedIn Connections
Our paths most recently crossed when I put a post on LinkedIn about awards, and you replied that it was something you did as part of your business plan. As usual, you have some interesting things to say which deserves a wider audience. Before we dive into some of your advice about applying for awards, what awards have you won?
Erm…*goes to LinkedIn page*
Winner – The Logistics 100 Category 2018, Issued by The Logistics Awards (SHD Magazine) · Award for the Top Logistics Influencer
Business Innovation Award 2017 – Issued by Coventry and Warwickshire SME Awards
Overall Winner – Coventry and Warwickshire SME Awards 2017
Leamington Business Awards 2017 – Innovation category
Pride of Warwick District Business Person of the Year 2017-18
Leamington Business Person of the Year 2016-17
CILT Awards for Excellence 2016 – Information Management; Issued by Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK)
FTA everywoman Transport and Logistics Award – Industry Champion 2013
NB The ones in bold were awards for me personally, others for a transport compliance app called SilkThread which was developed by my business partner, Jo Godsmark, and I, as well as the Labyrinth Logistics Consulting team.
I knew I’d be impressed! Can you quantify how winning awards had impacted on your business and career?
I think awards have three distinct benefits:
Ruth Waring’s Three Tips on Awards
- Entering them makes you really think about what you have achieved, to write it all down and to evaluate your successes dispassionately (and to think – wow, is that me?)
- The PR buzz you can create on getting shortlisted (and hopefully winning) makes you a bit of a social media and PR superstar.
- The networking at the event is often very positive and can lead to great things. I think for me it really gave a quantifiable benefit to the work I put in as a volunteer getting Women in Logistics UK off the ground.
Women, Confidence and Other People’s Views
When we talked recently, you said “Women have more confidence in other people’s views of themselves which they hold higher than their own opinion.” Can you elaborate on this?
I do think that we are conditioned to have more faith in other peoples’ opinion of us than in our own. It’s easier to state that we have awards and qualifications (judged by others) than it is to say how amazing and wonderful we are! That is why it is a good idea to practice talking about ourselves as others would describe our achievements.
Conditioning Of Women
Men don’t seem to struggle with this as much. I think it is how we are brought up – to be the grateful receiver of offers from others rather than the one doing the choosing and asking. In love and in life. I was brought up as the sister of a disabled brother, which is well known to result in people who are a bit “louder” than others. They had to fight harder for parental attention.
Do you think women generally wait for other people to nominate them rather than taking the matter into their own hands? Does it make any difference if we nominate ourselves? This would be consistent with research that women undersell themselves at interviews, for example.
I don’t think that they “wait” for others to nominate them, but I don’t think they would see themselves as worthy and put themselves forward. This is a constant battle when trying to get women to nominate themselves. Even I had to see a colleague win a local award to think “Well if she can win, so can I” and I am well known as a self-publicist!
Don’t Be An Awards Wallflower!
I do genuinely believe many women reading this could enter and win an award if they truly wanted to. Don’t wait for someone else to nominate you as it may never happen. Don’t be an awards wallflower!
Do you remember your first award application? How did you get on?
It was tough; it took me ages. It is easy to give up and think it’s not worth it. I always write far too much and have to spend a long time editing and polishing. Eventually I decided to include awards entries in our marketing strategy so the time spend doing them was as valuable as writing PR copy, or updating the website. Once you do several entries a year you get really good at it.
I know you’ve become something of an expert at writing applications for awards and give it serious thought. Would you share some of that experience with us? What are the most important things to get across, and what should we NOT do?
The key thing to remember is how the judges will be evaluating the entries. You have to include references to the all the detailed criteria which they always publish to make sure you find it and address each point in an obvious way.
The ‘So What” factor
The trickiest bit is always the quantifiable aspects and the “So what?” element – you did an amazing project, but so what? What was the outcome? How did it change the lives of your customers? What was the impact on your bottom line, on your market penetration, on the number of recruits applying successfully from your target group? You need to include facts and figures as well as testimonials.
The Word Count Matters
NEVER go over the word count as you risk being automatically eliminated. And if you don’t win, don’t worry! Enjoy the ceremony and make the most of the networking opportunities. It’s a great night to congratulate people you would not normally get to speak to – the CEO of your target client might be there and happy to chat. I struck up a conversation with the man who bought our business at an awards event and it went from there.
It is also where I met my partner – I walked up to a table of all men (it was the judges’ table, too) and asked what was wrong with it. They didn’t know. So I sat down and explained and the rest is history!
Thank you. That is so helpful. I hope the judges were a bit more gender equal next time round, too. What’s next in the pipeline for you, career and award -wise?
I am changing the balance of employment and consultancy soon – going to 2 days employed and 2-3 days per week consultancy. So I am always on the lookout for new clients. I am now more often a judge than an award entrant but who knows what the future brings?
Ruth, thank you so much for your tips for women on entering awards. I’ll wait with interest to hear about your next success. And maybe I’ll have a go myself…
RenewYou, My Tried and Tested Career Booster!
RenewYou has helped thousands of women make positive and lasting change in their lives. I deliver it one-to-one as part of a bespoke coaching package for women looking to move into leadership, to progress their career, or who wish to be the absolute best version of themselves.
Posted on March 23rd, 2022 by Jane
