Women will be helping to make history in early June when luxury car marque Jaguar accepts the prestigious Women's World Car of the Year award.
Jaguar's F-PACE won the supreme award in the 2016 judging and the famous motor company will be hosting 13 members of the judging panel for the celebrations.
If a group of women motoring journalists doesn't seem like an earth-shattering event, it's sobering to realise that not since the motor car was invented around 150 years ago, have so many female motoring journalists been in the same room at the same time.
They are part of a group of 25 judges from 19 different countries now on the WWCOTY panel. In England to present the trophy will be WWCOTY founder and managing director, Sandy Myhre from New Zealand.
"I have met eight of the judges so this occasion in England with Jaguar is a superb chance to meet more and I am thoroughly looking forward it," she says.
"The support the women give each other is amazing. I wish everyone could see the email threads between the judges but there has never been a central point like this before for them to be together.
"WWCOTY is unique in the world and the strength of the organization comes from being a collective voice for women in motoring."
The judges will first visit Jaguar headquarters in Stratford Upon Avon then journey to Coventry to see the company's Design Centre and meet with Ian Callum, the designer of the F-PACE, Fiona Pargeter, Head of Global Communications JLR, and the CEO of JLR, Dr Ralf Speth.
After the presentation in the UK, Sandy Myhre heads to Madrid where she will be hosted by Jaguar's Director of Communications for Spain at a media conference for journalists from 15 women's magazines.
She will be joined by the country's prominent motoring writers, Marta Garcia Fernandez and Sara Soria, who are both members of the WWCOTY judging panel.
The influential motoring magazine, Autoclub's RACE (Real Automóvil Club de España) will interview all three motoring writers for an article on motoring women pioneers and will feature a section on WWCOTY for their June issue.
Sandy Myhre says it is a wonderful feeling to see the awards grow from humble beginnings with just eight judges in 2010 to where it is now.
"Something seems to have woken up the motor industry and given the buying power of women, I'm surprised it's taken so long!
"The industry has long acknowledged that women influence around 80 per cent of vehicle purchases, whether they are buying their own car, or one for the family, but they were vastly under-represented in the traditional annual cars awards judging panels – until WWCOTY was created."
As part of the growing awareness of the importance and integrity of WWCOTY from the automotive industry and the media, Sandy Myhre has been asked to write about the history of WWCOTY for the Sunday Independent, Ireland's best-selling newspaper.
Contributing Editor, Geraldine Herbert, is also founder of Ireland's first and only motoring website for women www.wheelsforwomen and on the WWCOTY jury.
The WWCOTY asses a wide range of vehicles released each year and vote in six categories. When category winners are known, judges vote again to determine the supreme winner.
The final judging sheets are independently audited by international accountants, Grant Thornton, so the final results are just as much a surprise to the judges as to the winners.
Ends
For further information please contact:
Sandy Myhre
Phone: +64 27 667 8591
sandymyhre@gmail.com
www.womensworldcoty.com
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