Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, Pall-Ex Group welcomed the local Ashby Girl Guide unit to the Pall-Ex Central Hub to meet with some of the influential women across the business and take part in a workshop about aspirations.
Girlguiding Midlands is a leading charity for girls and young women across the Midlands with over 73,000 members, providing a safe space to grow, explore, and learn between the ages of 10-14.
With the aim of supporting the Girl Guides to achieve their ‘Aspirations’ badge, the unit heard inspiring stories from Michelle Naylor, Commercial Director, Sue Buchanan, International Director, Abby Langley, Head of Group Marketing, Susan Fordbird, Finance and Member Support Manager and Ellie Harman, International Quality and Compliance Manager.
Encouraging the local Girl Guides unit to prioritise goals and aim high, employees shared personal and career-focused goals alongside their role models and the progress they are making to reach their ambitions.
Pall-Ex Group are keen to encourage more females into the logistics industry, lowering entry barriers and ensuring that the sector is seen as a viable career option for women, through careers fairs and collaboration with schools and groups such as the Girl Guides.
Some of the most influential members of staff across the business are women, making up 33% of the Board and holding positions such as Commercial Director, International Director and Network Director as well as working within operational roles.
Michelle Naylor comments on the visit: “It was great to speak to the wonderful Girl Guides unit last week to help them with achieving their Aspirations badge.
“I am always looking to champion and empower young women whenever I can, so to be given the chance to speak in front of the Girl Guides to share my personal goals and journey was fantastic and I hope they all left feeling inspired.”
Sue Buchanan, International Director, comments: “It was a proud moment for us at Pall-Ex Group, getting to share our stories with the local Girl Guides unit. As a male-dominated industry that is often not considered interesting to young women, we are working on changing the perception of the logistics sector to encourage more women into the opportunities available.
“The Girl Guides had some fantastic questions for us at the end, ranging from ‘What is an FLT Driver?’ to ‘If I didn’t work in my current job at Pall-Ex, what other job would I like to do?’. I hope we inspired them to aim high with their goals and I am looking forward to awarding the unit with their badges.”