IB Woman
Issue No. 20 - December/January 2005
The road and shipping lane less travelled
Shaisee Ranford, Rose Darling and Gemma Gordon
Cleopatra favoured chariots, Queen Elizabeth preferred a sedan chair, Amelia Earhart was hooked on flight and Dr Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. All through the ages, women have been involved with transport. And in 21st Century Adelaide, three very different women have found their career niche amongst the steel and rubber of a surprisingly vibrant industry.
Shaisee Ranford entered the Transport and Logistics Industry as a graduate officer in the Freight Policy Unit at Transport SA after completing a Bachelor of International Business in 2000. Continuing her studies, Shaisee successfully completed a diploma and advanced diploma in logistics management as well as short courses relating to air and sea freight. Now only in her mid-20s, Shaisee is a Senior Project Officer, Logistics and Marine Policy and faces a dynamic future.
Rose Darling mentions something about ‘child labour’ as she admits to being involved in transport for 27 years. Now the Business Development Manager for Patrick International Freight, Rose has experienced being a business owner and employee. Her experiences offer a very different perspective on the industry, and her motivations for giving it a go.
"I am sad to say my only motivation was to work in Port Adelaide so I could catch the bus to work," she says. "I started with Universal Transport in the late seventies in a ‘one girl office’ and my title was ‘Girl Friday’.
"One of the best motivators for me during these early days was that the harder I worked and the more responsibility I took on, the more I was paid, so it was really pretty easy to stay motivated and focus on the business."
Gemma Gordan is the Chief Executive of LC Macklin & Sons Pty Ltd (Macklin Transport), a family business employing three generations of Macklin men, but her first foray in to the transport industry started as a child. She would accompany her father, a taxation consultant, on school-holi...
