Despite progress being made in many areas, women are still underrepresented in across the supply chain industry, and that gap is never more clear than in manufacturing and technical functions. Research shows women make up only around 25% of senior leadership roles within the supply chain- and anecdotally that number is likely to be even lower when it comes to Engineering and Operations leadership positions. This despite the fact that it is proven that organisations with diverse leadership teams are more innovative and tend to be better performing financially.
Working specifically in the areas of Manufacturing and Technical I regularly speak to women who are bucking this trend and leading across supply chain organisations- whether that is factory floor, innovation labs or within quality and other technical functions, and over the coming months I will be sharing some of those discussions- highlighting challenges they have faced, the impact the are having and importantly tips for anyone looking to develop their own careers in these fields.
I’m excited to share the first of these conversations I had with Petra Smith- Innovation and Engineering Director at Magnum Ice Cream Company who has had a varied and full career whose journey has spanned logistics, production and more recently a major business change management agenda- she is well placed to offer insights and advice to future supply chain leaders.
What inspired you to pursue a career in Supply Chain- particularly engineering and innovation?
I was attracted by the element of problem solving as well as the combination of technical challenges and people. The environment is so dynamic – no 2 days are ever the same! And I also love the buzz of seeing a product I’d helped to create on the shelf.
What advice would you give to any young women considering a career in Supply Chain?
Supply chain is a brilliant, fast-moving and fulfilling sector to work in, with a huge variety of different career paths and possibilities for women just as much as for men. Supply Chain is no longer ‘dirty’, manual, and archetypally ‘male’ environment which many people often imagine. There are so many skills and competencies where women have natural strengths and which are very much needed in the Supply Chains of today. So its a great time to work in our industry!
I would specifically encourage women starting out on their career journeys to seek out mentors and sponsors and invest in a strong support system from the beginning, as having a good network is an important aspect of career management which is often overlooked, esp. by the female population.
Where do you see the industry going in 5 years and what skills do you consider will be most important then?
‘The Future is no longer what is used to be’ - The world is becoming increasingly volatile and uncertain, and nowhere are the effects of this felt more keenly than in Supply Chains. Uncertainty is the new norm, and SC employees of the future (and the present!) need an ability to manage in this environment of ambiguity.
Technology is moving at an incredible pace and the rate of change will never be slower than what we see today. The incessant drive for growth, automation, cost competitiveness, environmental concerns and increasingly demanding consumer requirements will all shape the SCs of the future. Its hard to imagine how much can and will change in the next 5 years! The reality is that none of us can accurately predict this!
Going forward, the ability to evolve and change will be key. What has got us here is not what will get us there. We need the courage to lead in a different way – trialling different approaches, adapting as we go, accepting that mistakes and the learnings these give us are very much part of this journey, because none of us have all the answers. As leaders our success will depend on our ability to bring people with us on the journey, bringing diverse voices to the table, using the skills of agile leadership: strategic direction, empowerment, empathy, collaboration, inclusion to get the best from our teams and define the future together
Personal resilience will also be key. As individuals we cannot change how challenging the environment is. But we can make ourselves fit both physically and mentally to navigate it.
Were you offered support/mentorship as a woman in this space- and what impact did it have on you?
I’ve been supported by many people along my career journey – line managers, colleagues, mentors, sponsors. This makes a huge difference whether in building confidence, making connections, sharing feedback to help you improve, ensuring you are recognised and visible for valuable work and opening doors to new opportunities.
Have you noticed a shift in how companies support women in supply chain? What still needs to change?
Things are changing, but too slowly. The Supply Chain has always been a male-dominated environment and with this comes a majority culture which for many reasons suits men better than women. The first step is acknowledgement that there is a need for change. We see this starting to happen, but for many people this is still a blindspot. Women as well as men.
To accelerate progress we must work on different levels;
At grassroots in schools to unpick the prejudices against non-gender-stereotypical career paths for both boys and girls.
In recruitment and retainment of women in our sector – I don’t believe in quotas but I do believe that we need to over-index our efforts to identify and retain great female talent, because there are so many invisible barriers. We need more role-models, and support systems to build and retain female representation in functions (such as Manufacturing, Warehousing, Engineering) to 25%+ - this is the magic number where the underlying culture starts to change sustainably.
What barriers- if any, have you faced as a woman in the industry? How did you push through them?
Luckily the situations where I’ve encountered obvious sexism or discrimination have been very limited (although they did still happen) and I’ve worked with many fantastic and supportive colleagues, male and female.
The barriers I’ve faced have mainly been invisible ones – actually even invisible to me until recently and its only when I look back now that I recognise it.
Working in a culture where you are in a minority can be exhausting because you use more energy to just exist in this environment, also to have your voice heard and to feel understood.
Another example is network - there is a lot more informal connecting which happens between male employees than female, because they are simply present in work-related social situations more, often due to having less caring responsibilities. Knowing how important these connections are to career progression, this can be a big hinderance to women, and since realising this I have put a lot more effort into consciously building and nurturing my network and encouraging other women to do the same. But its something that I honestly wish I’d realised the power of earlier.
Personally what do you think companies could do to attract more women into technical functions of the supply chain?
It varies a bit by role type. There is a pressing need to increase female representation in shopfloor roles in Manufacturing, Engineering and Warehousing. I think that employers need to be more present in schools, educating pupils about potential career choices, and helping to broaden their thinking and aspirations. There are some great organisations like InnovateHer and Tech She Can in the UK which partner with business and schools to do exactly this.
In leadership/management roles, we need to consider that the things which attract men and women into roles can be fundamentally different. If we want to bring more women we need to adapt what we say and how we say it in order to target them - there is still a lot to do in the space of unstereotyping job adverts and the selection processes but the good news is that especially with AI there are lots of easily accessible tools to help us to do this now.
We also know that there are certain points in careers where there is a significant drop out rate of women from the workforce. Understanding the reasons behind these losses is critical and putting concrete action in place to address the root causes.
In all cases, its fundamental that we ask the women who are already in our organisations for their opinions and inputs, and really listen to what they have to say. Sounds simple, but so often this is missed. Personal testimonies are the best way to understand better how it feels to be a female in an organisational environment. We should also understand and use the data more to drive action. In other words: Measure what you Treasure.
Is there a stereotype about women in technical/operations roles that you would like to break?
There is zero difference in intelligence levels and technical aptitude between men and women, meaning that women are 100% as capable of doing technical roles as men. Unfortunately most of us (women included!) have an unconscious bias which tells us the opposite, mainly because in society we see a majority of men cast in high powered technical roles, not women.
The reason we see less women in this industry has everything to do with stereotypes, history, societal expectations and nothing to do with inherent capability. Which means that we repeatedly miss out on nearly 50% of the available talent when recruiting for entry level roles in this area by not attracting women.
Also at leadership level, it is a myth that it is necessary to be a command-and-control leader to get stuff done in a Supply Chain environment. And actually, the ability to deal with uncertainty, to adapt quickly plus the capability to motivate people to deliver high performance sustainably are more effective traits for a leader.
Are there unique strengths that can women can bring to the supply chain that can go under recognised?
Here we have to apply generalisations, but data from mulitiple research studies now suggests that women outperform men in many competencies strongly correlated with Leadership effectiveness: For example; authenticity, systems thinking, collaboration. Especially in supply chain there is often still an outdated command- and-control leadership archetype. So yes, I do think that these capabilities in women are often unrecognised.
To further underpin this, we also know that organisations with ≥30% women in leadership are 12x more likely to be in the top 20% for financial performance and yet companies are still resistant to addressing this gap.
What does true inclusion mean to you- not just diversity, but inclusion?
Inclusion for me is about not just tolerating but really embracing the differences people bring. Creating a sense of belonging within the workplace where they feel they can turn up as their whole selves. People feel they can be authentic and as a result are happier and more productive - but also the business benefits from the magic of varied ideas and capabilities which adds real and measurable value.
Are there any communities or networks that you have worked with that you would recommend to other women in STEM or SC functions?
Yes! For progression of Women in the sector I can recommend:
- BOOM Global Women’s SC Network Home - BOOM
- LEAD Network Europe
- Gender Equity & Inclusion in CPG & Retail | LEAD Network
- Women in Logistics UK Women in Logistics UK CIC - a voice for women in logistics
And I would also always encourage women to be the helping hand to lift other women in our sector. Some great organisations where you can add value for other young people and girls in particular;
- STEMETTES STEAM Is For All - Stemettes
- InnovateHer InnovateHer | Change the World | Choose Your Path
- Tech She Can Home - TechSheCan
- EY Foundation Home | EY - Global