Team members from Amazon’s fulfilment centres in Durham and Stockton-on-Tees have made it to the final of the national everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards 2025.

Sophie Martin and Claire Lapsley have been nominated in the Industry Champion and Supply Chain Award categories in the awards, which celebrate the important contribution women make to the transport and logistics industry.

The nominees for this year’s everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards demonstrate the progression, achievements and increasing avenues of opportunity available for women within a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Sophie and Claire share their experience of working in logistics ahead of the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards final, with the hope of inspiring other women to embark on similar careers.

Sophie is from Durham and works as a senior manager for process improvement at Amazon. When she’s not travelling around the UK or Europe sharing her logistics expertise with Amazon colleagues, Sophie is based at the fulfilment centre in Durham, where she previously worked as a senior operations manager.

Sophie’s Amazon career began at the fulfilment centre in Swansea in 2016 when she joined the Graduate Area Manager programme after university. Since then, she has worked at five Amazon fulfilment centres across the UK.

Before joining Amazon, Sophie was preparing for a medical physics career while serving as an army reservist. As she progressed to troop commander, however, she realised that her career aspirations lay in the coaching and development of people. As a result, she decided to pursue a career outside of what her degree prepared her for and joined Amazon in Swansea.

“Being a troop commander meant that I was used to leading large teams at scale, and these were generally men and people older than me. Knowing I had leadership skills like these is one of the things that attracted me to Amazon in the first place. The leadership principles aren’t dissimilar to the army’s, and I knew I’d do a good job as I was leading elsewhere.”

Sophie’s passion for coaching and mentorship led her to roles in two of Amazon’s employee-led groups: Women at Amazon and Warriors at Amazon.

Women at Amazon is a global group for women and allies interested in increasing gender diversity. Warriors at Amazon supports the veteran, military spouse, and military-connected communities at Amazon by bridging existing gaps for transitioning service members and their families as they enter the civilian workforce.

This commitment to Amazon’s employee-led groups is just one of the reasons that has seen Sophie nominated for the Industry Champion award at the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards.

“I went from being the only female manager within operations at Amazon in Swansea, to helping launch the Amazon fulfilment centre in Durham in 2020 with a 50/50 split of men and women in operations management.

“Before that, I helped establish a Women in Operations group at Amazon in Daventry when I was an operations manager. I see value in bringing women together, as we don’t naturally speak up when we need help, we just get on with things. I want to make sure that people have access to career coaching and advice exactly when they need it so leadership barriers can be removed.

“My leadership style is to show that interest in removing barriers. I don’t need to get into the nitty gritty of specific project challenges, I want to empower the women seeking to overcome the challenges and help them on their way.”

On the same day as the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards, Sophie will attend the Forces in Business Awards, where she has been nominated for Reservist of the Year.

Speaking on the crossover of military life and leadership at Amazon, Sophie shared: “The women at Amazon who are part of the armed forces community bring a different way of thinking to the company. I want to open doors for people based on their talent and the perspectives they bring to work.

“I still can’t believe I’ve been nominated for these awards. Both Industry Champion and Reservist of the Year feel huge, so it’s incredibly humbling that people think I’m worthy to receive them.”

What would Sophie say to other women considering a career in logistics?

“Be yourself, be authentic, and lead in your own way. The bar is only as scary as you set it in your head. Don’t be your own worst enemy and let self-doubt get in the way of what you want to accomplish. Get out there and go for it.”

Claire is from Ballyclare in Northern Ireland but lives and works in the North East of England.

She is a finalist in the Supply Chain Award category at the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards. Her nomination noted her success as a shipping operation manager at Amazon and her involvement with The Junction Multibank, an initiative run by Middlesborough-based charity The Junction, with backing from Amazon, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and local authority leaders to help local people in need.

The Junction Multibank opened in November 2024 and operates from a 12,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Middlesbrough. It receives surplus items from businesses and redistributes them to families in need across Tees Valley.

Claire joined the team at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Darlington in 2020 after finishing a degree in Business Studies at Ulster University. She followed colleagues from a previous job in food retail to Amazon and was encouraged to stay when she saw the how fast the company was innovating and growing, and the internal promotion opportunities it had available.

In 2023, Claire was part of the launch team for the Amazon fulfilment centre in Durham, where she was promoted from area manager to the role she holds today at the fulfilment centre in Stockton-on-Tees.

“I feel really privileged to have been nominated for an everywoman in Transport & Logistics award,” shared Claire. “Being nominated for my day job makes me proud, but I’m even more proud to say that part of the nomination comes from the work I’ve done with The Junction Multibank.”

Claire continued: “At the end of last year, I was responsible for the operations management and logistics of setting up the Multibank. I sat on a plastic chair in an empty warehouse in Middlesborough and drew out what it would become with pencil and paper.

“That warehouse went from being a blank canvas to delivering baby boxes, back-to-school kits and Christmas presents to people in need all over our community. We recently reached one million items provided for people in need, reaching our annual target for the project within six months of starting operations.”

“It’s lovely to walk into the Multibank and know that I had such an impact on its success,” Claire continued. “Even knowing that my mum and I picked out the furniture in the office makes me proud, never mind all the other brilliant things we’ve been able to do”

What would Claire say to other women considering a career in logistics?

“Be yourself and give it a go. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you have to change how you operate to be a good manager in a practical industry. I lead a team that’s majority men whilst being completely myself. Give it a go – you never know what you can accomplish.”

James Carter, Site Leader at Amazon in Stockton-on-Tees, added: “Everyone on the teams at Amazon in the North East wishes Sophie and Claire every success in the final of the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards. They’ve been such inspirations for those who work with them – especially those with similar ambitions to pursue a career in logistics. They have proved brilliant examples in demonstrating how to forge a successful and fulfilling role in the industry. We’re all sending our support in the run up to the final and hope to welcome them home with the top prizes!”

Sophie and Claire will find out if they’ve been successful in the everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards at a ceremony in the Park Plaza London Riverbank Hotel on 26th June 2025.

There are 11 global employee-led groups at Amazon and among these are networks dedicated to supporting, connecting and empowering women, including Women at Amazon, Women in Operations and Families at Amazon.

Amazon employees receive competitive pay and comprehensive benefits. The minimum starting pay for frontline operations employees is between £13.50 and £14.50 p/h, depending on location. For those with 36 months service, this is £13.75 and £14.75p/h, depending on location. This equates to an annual starting salary of between £28,080 and £30,160, depending on location, for full-time frontline employees across the country.

Amazon has invested £550m in increased pay for operations employees across the UK since 2022, representing a 35% increase in the hourly rate in just two years. Additionally, from day one, all employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidized meals and an employee discount. Together, these benefits are worth more than £700 annually, and employees can also take advantage of Amazon’s company pension plan.

Amazon has been named as a ‘Top Employer UK 2025’ by the Top Employer Institute, for the second year in a row, one of the world’s most prestigious certifications in the field of human resources management. This award recognises Amazon’s commitment to the development and well-being of its employees. In addition to the UK accolade, Amazon has also been certified as one of the Top Employers in Europe for a third consecutive year.

In 2025, Amazon ranked in second place on LinkedIn’s Top Companies list — an annual list that identifies the most sought-after large companies to work for and grow your career in the UK. Using data from LinkedIn’s 900 million members, LinkedIn’s Top Companies list is designed to help professionals identify the best companies to grow their careers.