Women in Powered Access Webinar 2024.

In 2021, IPAF started the IPAF Women in Powered Access Initiative. Its aim was to recognise and celebrate the contributions of women in powered access, as well as outline career pathways for women already in the industry and those looking to enter it.

So far, the working group of international IPAF members has:

• Created profiles of women in many different roles across the sector.
• Hosted the first women in powered access networking event.
• Encouraged more female speakers and attendees to join informative industry events
• Set up signposting pages with resources for women in the workplace and their managers.

Ongoing projects include a mentoring scheme for women in the industry. IPAF has recently scheduled a three-part live webinar series that explores a variety of key topics. The webinars are free to attend and are open to both members and non-members. 

Vicki Allen, MD of International Platforms was invited to take part in the first webinar in the series. This took place on 20 September 2023, with the theme ‘Women in Leadership’. This webinar was hosted by Ali Moore, an experienced leadership development consultant.

The webinar explored what it means to be a woman in leadership and looked at busting the myths behind it. It also explored the evolution of the thought ‘act like a man’ and the common situations found in businesses today.

Vicki took part in a panel session, where Ali asked women in management positions in the powered access industry a series of questions about their experiences. They were asked to discuss their career highlights take-aways for aspiring leaders. Other webinar contributors included Oana Samoila, Key Accounts Sales Manager at AlmaCrawler and  Debbie Hameetman, Director of People Process and Digital Technology EMEAI (JLG).

Drawing on their own experience, the three panelists talked about the positive attributes women can bring to leadership roles in the access platform industry and their hopes for the future including mentorships and succession planning.

As the winner of the new 2023 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion category at this year’s IAPAs, Vicki was keen to stress the importance of giving opportunities to your team members to enable them to grow. She also highlighted the need to be aware of the skills different people bring to the workplace whatever their gender and background. Drawing on her experience as a leader and also as an employee, Vicki pointed out that if you shine as a leader, you’ll get more back from your team.

The full webinar can be seen by clicking on the link below.