Women with Drive Powers up for International Women’s Day 2017

Wednesday 8th March saw annual International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations take place across the world, and Cox Automotive was at the forefront of the action, with our fourth Women with Drive (WWD) event..

Wednesday 8th March saw annual International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations take place across the world, and Cox Automotive was at the forefront of the action, with our fourth Women with Drive (WWD) event.

 

With a line-up of inspirational speakers, personal development activities and some exciting announcements along the way, the day saw over 90 team members gather to share stories, support and celebration, all in line with this year’s IWD theme, #BeBoldForChange.

First to take to the stage was Cox Auto’s very own Janet Barnard, who had travelled all the way from The States to attend. She inspired us with her own story of rising through the ranks to become president of Inventory Solutions, and how her upbringing on a remote farm in Nebraska empowered her to work hard and overcome challenges in line with her ambitions.

 

Next up, we heard from Jo Salter, the world’s first female fast jet pilot, who told her story of conquering a male-dominated world and flying on the front line for the RAF. Her story focused on not being afraid to fail, and remaining relentlessly determined even when faced with challenges and obstacles. With two daughters, two books, a 14-year career flying fighter jets, and a fantastically funny, engaging way of sharing her journey, Jo left us with a powerful dose of that ‘anything-is-possible’ feeling.

 

After lunch, Shirley Collier delivered an engaging personal development workshop focusing on the power of storytelling, and how we can all ‘Be Bold For Change’. She tied her own experiences of success, failure and overcoming hurdles in with the theme of the day, and encouraged us all to talk about self-belief, and how we can change our thinking to achieve goals and instigate positive change.

 

The day came to a close with some exciting announcements from Alison Fisher, who told us that we will be officially launching the WWD network to the industry at the Cox Automotive summit on 4th May this year. This is a giant step for WWD, and one that looks to see the event empower and inspire even more women and men across the entire automotive industry. She also told us that – by popular demand – a team of ten Cox Auto team members will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2018, in an exciting mission that’s set to prove our strength and determination to the industry and beyond. More details on both of these updates to follow – watch this space!

 

Overall, the event was a great success, both for WWD and the whole IWD movement. As part of the action, attendees were encouraged to make our own #BeBoldForChange pledges on camera, and you’ll be able to watch these soon and find out how we all hope to drive positive change both individually and across the workplace.