Does the Gender Gap Still Exist in the Logistics Industry?
“Does the gender gap exist anymore?”
I was caught off guard by the question, which was asked in all seriousness.
Because…surely it is obvious.
International Women's Day stands to highlight the disparities that exist between men and women in terms of power and opportunities. Because…surely it's obvious? Arguably, the biggest discussion between gender inequality is the pay gap, yet that still remains at a 5.45% average in the UK (with a median of 9.71%).
As women working in logistics, a predominantly male field, we found ourselves having conversations about our past experiences.
While we, of course, have found a lot of joy in the industry, there were still instances in the past where comments were made based on our gender that left us in a state of complete disbelief.
One employee recounted a past experience she had before joining Chill-Chain, when an interviewer made the remark “It would be great to have a woman in the office to make the tea”. Another told us how she is often involved in conversations regarding sports and how she is usually dismissed as “probably not being interested in football”.
The continuation of these kinds of discussions after assuming someone could not contribute to the conversation serves to purposefully exclude them from informal conversations that act as gateways to building professional relationships.
Multiple people recalled being labelled ‘emotional’, while others remembered times of being told to ‘calm down’.
An interesting study published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly found that when a woman is labelled as ‘emotional’ their credibility takes a hit.
While men often escape this label (despite possessing the same traits as women), the study concluded that even when men were labelled as ‘emotional’ their integrity goes unscathed.
The notion suggests that if one is labelled as ‘emotional’, they are incapable of being ‘rational’ and therefore unable to form a valid opinion. This is simply untrue. Interestingly, it has, in fact, also been proven that emotion is a critical component of intelligent thought.
Our previous encounters have been quite fascinating. Still, we have observed the industry transforming, sometimes slowly, but transforming nonetheless.
Fortunately, we are at the forefront of this change being privileged to work for a forward-thinking and diversified organisation.
The logistics industry's worldwide average for female representation stands at a mere 2%. In the UK, that increases to 20% of the industry, however, this figure is still remarkably low when compared to the 47% of women in the UK workforce.
45% of Chill-Chain's workforce is made up of women.
A figure we hope will be increasingly standard in the future of logistics.
Furthermore, our management teams comprise over 50% of women. While it's challenging to obtain industry-specific data on the representation of women in leadership positions in wider logistics roles, our estimation puts the figure at approximately 26%.
In the UK internal promotions into leadership are 21% more likely for men. In other countries across Europe, this can increase to 81%.
In a report, Mastercard’s Cairns attributed this to many industries and companies hiring or promoting women based solely on relevant experience, whereas men often get the chance based on skills or perceived potential.
Claire, our Director of Operations, is one of our female leaders and recounts times in the industry that we felt important to share.
“I often find that faced with a table of men who have worked in logistics for 20+ years that I have to remind myself that my opinion is as valid as any of theirs and to speak up rather than hold back”.
Our goal at Chill-Chain is to revolutionise the logistics industry through technology, and having diverse teams is at the core of that goal, Claire goes on to confirm this idea saying,
“If we're going to change the logistics landscape then we need to hear all voices; young, old, male, female and non-binary in order to make the improvements that are so desperately needed”.
Surely it is obvious…but realistically industries can often overlook the perpetuation of gender-based discrimination and stereotyping within their environments, especially male-dominated fields. While progress has been made, there is still a way to go in achieving gender equality.
With diverse teams and inclusive leadership, the industry can be revolutionised and improved for everyone.
So, instead of does the gender gap exist anymore? How about, what steps can we take towards real change?
