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The first 100 years of women in transport

One hundred years ago, as young men headed from London to serve in the trenches of the First World War, women for the first time found themselves working in the transport industry keeping the capital moving.

The lives of these women, who were employed to do the jobs previously occupied by men – as bus conductors and mechanics on London buses and as porters and guards on the Underground – are celebrated in “Goodbye Piccadilly”, a new exhibition at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. 

“Young women in transport need to be more confident of their abilities. Work hard but be confident that you can actually do the job well.”

As one of the most senior transport professionals in the UK, Michèle Dix points out that much as changed in terms of equality in the transport workplace.

“There are many more women coming into the transport sector but there are still fewer at senior level than you would like to see,” she said. “We have got to change this. We need more role models and more women spokesmen.”

Throughout her career in transport, Dix has managed, with support from here employers at Halcrow and then Transport for London, to balance career responsibilities with the demands of family life through both part time and job share arrangements. 

Flexibility and trust, she said, was crucial on both sides of the employer/employee relationship.

However, Dix also highlighted that too often she still saw women who missed out on bigger roles through not being as assertive or confident about their abilities as their male peers. 

“Young women in transport need to be more confident of their abilities,” she advised. “Work hard but be confident that you can actually do the job well.”

If you would like to contact Antony Oliver about this, or any other story, please email antony.oliver@infrastructure-intelligence.com.