Women in Supply Chain

With its beginnings firmly rooted in trucking and manufacturing, supply chain has traditionally been viewed as inhospitable to women. In fact, only 10 percent of the most senior leadership roles in supply chain and operations are currently held by women.

But change is on the horizon as more women enter the field and as progressive companies recognize the advantageous skillsets that women bring to the table.

Su Rankin, vice president of Manufacturing for Land O’Lakes, Inc., and long-time mentor to female supply chain students and professionals, is witnessing this shift first hand.

“More and more women show up to events and interviews, which is encouraging,” says Rankin. “Yet, in many ways I can’t believe that telling my story is still ‘new’. It makes you wonder when things are going to change. Things take time, and I’m hopeful.”

A Woman’s Touch
Despite the large gender imbalance among supply chain leaders, an opinion poll conducted by SCM World (www.scmworld.com) among 150 global supply chain practitioners shows that both genders (75% of women and 63% of men) believe that the natural skillsets of women differ from men. They also agree (96% of women and 74% of men) that these different skillsets are advantageous for supply chain leadership and performance.

For example, women in leadership often exhibit strong emotional intelligence, including astute self-awareness, empathy, humility and steadfastness. These traits lend themselves to relationship management, collaboration and creativity in solving problems, both inside the organization and with suppliers and customers across the value chain. As supply chain increasingly becomes much more than a service function alone, but a key strategic factor that is driving and enabling global economies and business growth, these leadership attributes will be all the more critical.

“Supply chains are largely human organizations,” comments Rankin. “I think that if you love people there is no better function than supply chain — and women are very social. Supply chain members are wired to be collaborative and work very hard to make the impossible happen. As women, we do this every day in our personal lives, so why not leverage that in our professional lives?”

Kevin O’Marah, chief content officer for SCM World, the global community of senior supply chain professionals, adds that the unique edge women seem to have rests on a team-oriented approach to success rather than personal glory. 

“The higher you go, the more important it will be to understand how the entire team works,” he says. “Young women looking to enter the field should be sure to know business, not just supply chain.”

Recruiting Women
Overall, there is agreement that there is a shortage of good talent, and the competition for this talent is very diverse. With more women entering the field than ever before and an overall agreement that women’s skillsets are advantageous for leadership, the question then is how companies can capture this golden opportunity.

“Companies need to do a better job highlighting the advantages of working in supply chain to women,” says Rankin.“To do this, we need to continue aggressively recruiting diverse populations to ensure we have diverse slates for each and every job we are hiring for, and we have to sell the profession all the way at the university level.”

O’Marah adds, “Wherever possible, universities should develop curricula that are expansive and integrated. Overemphasis on technical precision as in a deep logistics focus or pure operations research will create siloed skill sets and narrow career progression tournaments. Women may be turned off by this, and hiring companies will lose the advantage women often bring as better team builders.”

Both O’Marah and Rankin note that another selling point for women is the flexible and family-friendly schedules that round-the-clock supply chain jobs offer. It certainly sustained Rankin, a working mother, through her 20-plus year career, who says that with technology and progressive companies it can be one of the most flexible professions.

In the end, its ambitious women, like Rankin, who will thrive by bringing new ideas and a willingness to challenge cultural norms in established corporate environments. 

“Think of it as a goldrush type opportunity with fewer traditions to break through,” says O’Marah. “The time to break this problem down is now.”