Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) is celebrating 25 years in the transport industry.
The milestone was commemorated with an event hosted at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution in Shepparton, Victoria, on 1 March, which was attended by the organisation’s members, sponsors and supporters.
TWAL Chair, Jacquelene Brotherton, reflected on the organisation’s triumphs and challenges throughout its lifetime, as she has been with TWAL as a member since 2003, and has served as Chair across two tenures.
“While I was donating money to the organisation back in 2003, I wasn’t very involved in its operations,” she told Trailer.
“I just put money in to support the organisation and didn’t really participate. But after moving to Melbourne in 2005, and after the organisation’s first conference in 2006, I really started to get involved by attending meetings and functions.”
Brotherton then joined the Board for the first time in 2008.
“Even then, it was hard to gain traction as an organisation,” she said.
“We had some successful conferences but not a lot of financial backing. When I came back to the Chair position in 2017, things really started to kick off.”
It was at this time that the organisation received more backing and had the ability to start many of its initiatives, which are still active to this day.
Over this significant period of work, Brotherton has seen a progressive shift in the transport industry’s attitude towards women drivers.
While she herself never experienced an ‘anti-women’ attitude in over 50 years in the transport industry, Brotherton has witnessed growth – specifically coming from the youth and their perspectives towards the transport sector at large.
“What we’ve noticed is that there is now an enormous amount of young women coming into the industry, and these girls are bringing with them lots of male champions and allies that support what we do,” she said.
“I think this is so important. Our younger generation is really bringing the industry forward and enjoying the participation.
“We saw this at our function last Saturday night – there was a great amount of young women and men having a great time. They’re breaking their way into the sector and creating an atmosphere of equality and positivity.”
To Brotherton, these attitudes speak to the passion and enthusiasm that TWAL fosters in its members, something that she believes has been the organisation’s greatest strength throughout its 25 years.
Looking back on the organisation’s many projects, Brotherton considers the founding of its various supportive initiatives to be one of its greatest achievements.
“I remember when we signed up with Daimler to organise the Driving Different scholarships, I was always so proud of that, and didn’t think it would happen,” she said.
“But when we got the Young Gunnette award established last year, that was amazing.
“These are things that actually improve young people’s careers. I think the push of those scholarships helps the industry recognise young and emerging talent, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
