Ernest Davies Award winner woMEN in Parking (From a male perspective) The winning entry for the Ernest Davies Award 2022 by Jamie Ashford of DCB Legal s the parking sector is inherently male dominated, the likelihood is that the vast majority of those reading this will be male too. And most of them will already have dismissed Women in Parking (WiP) as a community to which they dont belong. Understandable. But incorrect. A This isnt a coup! My involvement in WiP came quite by chance when, in June 2022, I was asked to chair a WiP panel at Parkex. Although my early acknowledgement of the irony quickly turned to intrigue, it would appear others had the same initial reaction: Why is a man chairing a womens event? Surely thats going to p*ss everyone off? Isnt that just for women, though? My involvement led me to carry out some research into the acute topic I was involved in Tackling violence against women and girls with a natural focus on incidents occurring in car parks. In addition to the main theme, I took the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the WiP group and more generally evaluate my own relationship with diversity in the corporate world. Knowledge is not power it is only potential. Applying that knowledge is power. Understanding why and when to apply that knowledge is wisdom Takeda Shingen, Samurai warrior WiP the background The group started as an idea emerging from a general discussion on how the parking industry appeared from the outside to be a male-dominated sector. There are now many more women moving up through the industry into senior and management roles, which is particularly noticeable in the public sector. WiP was launched in October 2020 and, at the time of writing [autumn 2022] there are 333 registered members of WiP more than 70 per cent of whom are women. Within 12 months, the membership numbers ought to double. With the help of this article, I hope the numbers of men enlisted grows too, because while there will naturally and understandably be exclusive women only conversations to be had, the presence of men will usefully support the objectives. What is WiP? Like others, I questioned: What is WiP? Is it about women in car parks? Or, women working in parking? I was also sincerely asked: Is it about how women can improve their parking?! In actual fact, WiP aims to promote, represent and raise the profile of women in the UK parking sector through the advancement of knowledge, training, exchange of views via networking and ongoing support. The topic I was to chair at Parkex extended to the physical presence of women and girls in car parks. Their safety. Their fears. Their concerns. And more. 32 PN Mar 2023 pp32-33 Ernest Davies Award.indd 32 22/02/2023 11:57