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NEWS
Better recognition needed for females in the RV industry
Women are doing great things within the Australian RV industry so why aren't they better recognised?COMMENT
So the Caravan Industry Association of Australia is seeking nominations for this year’s Eric Hayman Award for Excellence, the “industry’s most prestigious award”.
Awarded for the first time in 1990 to Eric Hayman, who started the towing business now known as Hayman Reese, the honours' list reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the industry, with previous winners including Jayco boss Gerry Ryan, former Caravan and Camping Industry Association NSW CEO Barry Baillie, Al-Ko executive Rob Funder and the late Richard Davis.
While all have no doubt made significant contributions, the past individual winners have something else in common: they’re all male.
Now, we’re not suggesting that the Caravan Industry Association of Australia is a ‘boys club’ that only rewards its ‘mates’.
We also realise that until recently women, like most manufacturing sectors have been largely under-represented in positions of leadership, instead filling less influential roles like sales, customer service, production and marketing.
But that’s changing, with a number of prominent women emerging that could each be viewed as a “true industry ambassador” – a prerequisite for any Award of Excellence winner, according to the peak body.
These include Gabby Montagnese, who as Australia’s only female caravan company owner and CEO has built New Age into one of the largest caravan manufacturers in the country, and Lyndel Gray, a 30-year industry veteran and CEO of CCIA NSW since 2012 and former head of Tourism NSW.
Then there’s Faye Watson, the dealer principal of Watson’s Caravans and RVs Coffs Harbour and a real mover and shaker as board member and vice president of the CCIA NSW as well as board member of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia.
She’s one of two women elected to the board of the revamped national body in 2015, joining Donna Cocking, a caravan park owner and former State Director WA for Top Parks and immediate past President of Caravan Industry Association WA.
With countless achievements between them in the caravan and camping industry, surely one of these female trailblazers is worthy of an Excellence award?
Former winner and now chairman of the Eric Hayman Award Committee, Ron Chapman, told Caravancampingsale that while no woman has ever won, one or more may have played a significant behind-the-scenes role when on the odd occasion the award has gone to an organisation rather than individual.
“No, it has never been awarded to an individual woman,” Chapman said. “However some awards which recognised groups, for example the awards in 1992, 1993, 1998 and 2006, may well have had significant female involvement, particularly 2006.”
The BIG 4 and Top Parks organisations won in 1993 and 1998 respectively, with the 2006 award going to the Australian Caravan Safari Team chaired by Barry Baillie (who later won in his own right in 2011).
With more and more women playing significant roles in the industry, not to mention growing female participation in the recreational side of things, isn’t it time to formally recognise worthy and inspiring women, and in turn encourage female participation in what remains a very male-dominated industry?
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Written byChris Fincham
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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