Toyota’s Carolyn Bundey wins Automotive 30% Club Inspiring Women Award
Carolyn Bundey, Senior Manager, Strategic Projects, the Academy, Toyota (GB), has been honoured as a winner in the Inspiring Automotive Women Awards 2025, presented by the Automotive 30% Club. Winners will be presented with their awards at the IMI (Institute of the Motor Industry) annual awards dinner on 12 March.
Since Bundey joined Toyota 18 months ago with a retail background, she has made a positive impact as a role model and ambassador for females at both Toyota and its retail network. She has invested time in coaching and mentoring and has led significant projects, including the development of a programme designed to attract and retain diverse talent including more females. As a result of her initiatives, such as introduction of a modern apprenticeship scheme and encouraging retailers to widen their recruitment pool, there have been more applications from women, with broader skills and from more diverse backgrounds. The result has been a 20 per cent increase in females joining the Toyota and Lexus Academy early development career pathways.
Bundey established a DE&I Network which is helping women with career progression and resulted in a 15 per cent increase in female participation in an Emerging Managers programme. She was also a trail blazer in introducing a Reverse Mentoring programme which encouraged women to be confident in providing insight and feedback to senior male leaders in the business.
She also led Toyota’s support for the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) More to Motor campaign, creating engaging and dynamic real-life stories of female experiences in the industry through a series of short films.
Bundey said: “It is an incredible honour to be a winner of this year’s Automotive 30% Club award and I am humbled to be recognised as an inspiring automotive woman in an industry that is constantly evolving. It is a privilege to be part of a company and team that understand the power of different perspectives and empower us to share views and ideas every day. I’m also fortunate to work with many inspiring role models, including previous award winners, as well as male allies who champion the work I do to drive inclusivity across our retail network. This award is testament to what we can achieve when we encourage and support one another and I’m excited to continue paving the way for current and future generations of women in automotive.”
Marie Barry, General Manager, Toyota Academy, commented: “Carolyn is inspiring with her energy and tenacity, leading and driving initiatives that attract and retain more diverse talent, including more females.”
The Automotive 30% Club brings together business leaders to promote greater opportunities and representation for women at senior management level in the automotive industry. The annual Inspiring Women in Automotive Awards celebrate those who help women to join, progress and remain in the sector. They celebrate the role women can play in helping companies to build inclusive cultures, increase female representation and reap the benefits of a gender-balanced business.
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