- March 11, 2015
- 3:28 pm
- John Caltagirone
- no comments
Gender Inequality in Supply Chain and Beyond
The world celebrated International Women’s Day just this past Sunday, shedding light on the subject of gender inequality. Articles, blogs, and tweets flooded campaigning to close the gap for women in all facets of society, including in the business world. While pay has been the hot topic of the most transparent problem with women becoming equal in the business world, another topic that has faced equal exposure is that of women in leadership positions within companies.
Women make up about 43% of the supply chain workforce, but less than 10% have executive positions.1 Women while holding close to half the positions in the supply chain, they do not account for being part of key decision-making process that occurs at the c-suite. And rather than regurgitating the statistics of how women are not paid the same even when at those c-suite levels or the difficulty of being a woman in a leadership position because colleagues or peers are not cooperative or respectful, we will discuss what the value of women is in the supply chain field.
While much of the issue with is linked to lack of mentorship and sponsorship for women wanting to climb up the ladder, there is also a significant influence and pressure caused by social media and existing societal norms that persuade young girls to not pursue such leadership roles. According to a paper written by The Chartered Management Institute, an institution that serves for professionals in management in the United Kingdom, many young, well-educated girls have voiced that they don’t see much sense in aspiring to do more because they are presumed to “play dumb, stay thin, and marry well.”2
Young girls are working at competency levels that are below their capacity to compensate for a society that does not foster their full potential. With that companies and organizations are losing out on recruiting potential bright minds and almost half of the workforce. That being said more education and development needs to be dedicated in cultivating leadership attributes in young girls. Furthermore encouraging young girls not to deter from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) career routes that are usually the most demanded careers. These companies and organization need to actively attract more women in order to field more talent, and with that, diverse talent that holds unique perspectives. Supply chain positions require versatility and adaptability and with a workforce that can accommodate accordingly. Companies cannot be optimizing their innovative channels or efficiency if they are not accessing the other half of workforce, women.
Moreover this is beyond leadership opportunities for women in the field of supply chain, but it is even about the amount of women involved in the global supply chain who may not be necessarily considered. I am referring to the 60 to 80 percent of women that make up the labor workforce at the bottom of many supply chains.3 The women living at or below poverty levels and working in unsafe factories and conditions, not to include low wage rates. These facilities usually go under the radar by most auditors.
One example is that of coffee production chains and overall the agriculture industry. Studies have found that almost half of the people working in these fields are women while managers and leaders of these cooperatives are usually men. In the more specific example of Union de Cooperativas Agropecuarias Soppexcca cooperative in Nicaragua, the organization has significantly advanced in the hands of Fatima Ismael, a local woman, in the past 20 years, growing from 68 producers to 650 today. Fatima was able to create the first coffee lab in the small town of Jinotega and used it to train producers on coffee quality. The program also provides health programs and education for women who account for almost 40% of the members.4 This example attesting to the impact of female leadership that focuses to reach across the company rather than focus on a single individual or single aspect.
The future of supply chain, especially global supply chain, involves increased collaboration between businesses and NGOs, proper training and investment in women’s empowerment and educational programs. By doing so it will be allow for the creation of a more sustainable, ethical, and innovative supply chain. The Supply & Value Chain Center at Quinlan recognizes the importance of this and for that reason has launched the Women in Supply Chain Series, which will work with female leaders in the industry to develop mentorship and programs to get young girls interested in becoming future leaders. Stay tuned!
-Riti Patel, Assistant, Supply & Value Chain Center
Sources:
1.http://www.supplychain247.com/article/practical_advantages_to_having_more_women_in_supply_chain
2. “Women in Leadership,” Chartered Management Institute & Women in Management. White Paper/March 2013.
3. http://www.supplymanagement.com/blog/2015/03/why-we-must-empower-women-in-global-supply-chains
4. http://www.sustainableharvest.com/recognizing-the-changing-role-of-women-in-coffee/?utm_source=SH%20Blog&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=%20Recognizing%20the%20changing%20role%20of%20women%20in%20coffee