Making moves into a man's world

Global - The logistics sector has evolved from being merely a means to transport goods from one place to the next to providing a total suite of products; having a fleet of vans to adopting complex technological systems to track and trace every shipment, but it seems the male-female ratio is still stuck in the stone ages.

Women have always been a minority in the logistics sector, but a new research found out just how minor.

According to the Global Logistics HR Survey - Women in Logistics, the fourth module of Europhia's online Global Logistics HR Survey Series, women make up only a small 21% of the total logistics workforce worldwide.

Europhia also said that of the 1,100 supply chain and logistics professionals surveyed, less than 30% are women, and this is consistent across key markets globally. Also, women made up less than 10% of employees in management positions in the sector.

However bridging the gender gap is not merely an equal rights issue. According to a global McKinsey survey, one of the key challenges companies face in their supply chain is the availability, cost and quality of labour. In a global labour market that is getting increasingly tight, the industry could do more to attract more women.

Women: women's worst critics

Interestingly, it is the women who feel that they need to perform better in order to receive the same amount of appreciation.

According to the survey, 72% of women surveyed are convinced that women need to perform better, compared to only 36% of males who felt that way.

This is perhaps due to the fact that almost half of the logistics and supply chain professionals still think that working in logistics is harder for women than for men, the survey found.

In addition, some 60% of logistics professionals feel that women are less often considered for management positions than their male counterparts with equivalent qualifications. Again, only 40% of men felt this was true, compared to the 69% female participants.

The survey also found that a major factor perpetuating this gender divide lay in the role of schools and universities. Only 27% of respondents felt these institutions were supportive in promoting the industry to women and only 21% feel that the industry as a whole is supportive in this respect.

Attracting women

In order to even out the testosterone levels in the sector, Europhia consulting suggests corporations attract the fairer sex through the implementation of work-life balance, gender equality and the creation of better career opportunities for women.

While there are organisations working to channel more focus on this issue - such as the Canadian Logistics Institute's initiative ‘Women in Logistics' - it is widely agreed that more action needs to be taken to create a better gender balance within the sector.

"It is time this topic is more openly discussed within the sector and more initiatives are started to ensure skilled and qualified labour supply for future years," says Justina Liow, director of Europhia Consulting.

"Companies need to market themselves to better attract female employees and offer more support to women. Schools need to be more supportive in promoting the industry since they have a huge influence on the next generation of professionals. Industry organisations need to ensure that initiatives are started, discussions take place and actions followed."

Box:
Not always the softer sex

Mary Yeo, UPS MD of Singapore is one of the minority, being both female and in a management position in the logistics industry. The MD, with 29 years of experience in the logistics business under her belt, tells ProcurementAsia of her journey up the ranks, and gives her two cents on the so-called "fairer" sex.

Give us a brief rundown of your career so far.

I started with UPS on October 3 1988 after UPS acquired Asia Courier Systems, where I was country manager. But I wasn't country manager from day one. In fact, I had to be on a 30-day probation when we were acquired before I was installed as country manager for UPS.

Was it difficult for you to go from a country manager back to being under probation?
It wasn't difficult, but I remember feeling very disappointed at that time. The frustration stemmed from the fact that I was put under probation because I was a woman and less than 30 years old.

It was also because UPS at the time traditionally didn't allow very many women in management positions in both the US and outside of the US, and were not sure if I was able to assume the role given to me. Instead, they put me under probation for the first 30 days under a team of 11 Americans.

How did you prove your worth?

It is not so difficult because at that time I was already a country manager for the Asian Courier System office here in Singapore. So I was already doing the job of a country manager and have had several years of experience prior to being acquired by UPS. Proving to a new group of people wasn't that too difficult because I just have to go along the work as given to me.

The 30 days passed by so quickly that I didn't even know it was over. Before I knew it, they handed me a letter to say congratulations you've become a country manager. I remember my response being: "Oh really? I thought I was really one in the last thirty days."

What is the gender divide among the team you manage at the moment?

The entire team that reports to me are all men. They are men all of approximately the same age as I am.

Is it difficult to manage them?
Oh never. They're a fun team to be with. I never had a problem working with people unless they had a personal issue.

What do you think is the difference in management style between men and women?
In my opinion, women are more precise, they tend to look at the finer details. I also tend to focus a lot more more the welfare of my employees. Gender plays a good important role in the care we give our people. Not that male managers don't do it either, but I think women tend to look beyond the individual staff and their career, and more into their families and well-being. That is my style, and I think it is both a mix of my gender and myself.

Why do you think women are so poorly represented in the logistics industry?

I think part of the reason is the sector's association with being an environment that is rough and fast; thus still largely male dominated.

In my opinion. the logistics industry requires a bit more publicity. Women like to be educated on what the logistics industry is all about. I guess because the word "logistics" is much associated to the other side of the world, that women who have responsibilities may feel hindered to step out of their comfort zone and join the sector.

What about in management positions?

I think women who are not stepping into the industry. I find that each time we look for capable candidates to fill in the senior positions, we are lacking of women.

This is where education comes in again. Women should be educated on the benefits in the logistics business. Graduating women have the same career prospect in the logistics business as men do.

At the same time, women in logistics companies should not apply for the standard job that we are known for, like HR, finance and accounts. They are all very standard administrative work. Try to look for something more interesting. Try to be an engineer for a supply chain company. Look to be the engineering and solutions expert in a logistics company. Look to be the programme manager for the company. These are jobs in the logistics that could make a managerial positions.

Women are always known for their "soft skills". Do you agree with this statement and how do you think women can contribute to the logistics industry?

I am not right to say that women have more patience than men. Take myself for example, honestly I don't have enough patience than I wish I did.

However, maybe it's the woman in us that makes us tend to be more cautious, and in anything that we do, we always weigh the risk very seriously before we start to take that initiative or approach.