Gender Diversity in Supply Chain Talent is Slowly but Surely Growing
Although supply chain, and supply chain management in particular, has historically been a male dominated field, disparities in gender and race are slowly starting to creep closed.
For gender in particular, a recent survey published by Gartner indicates that the number of women who hold top corporate supply chain roles has increased to 17%, up from 11% in 2019, which is the largest proportion jump this survey has seen since its inception in 2016.
Unfortunately, they also found that the jobs that are the path to those top positions are being held by fewer women. Jobs at the VP or Director level are now only 21% women, down from 28% last year.
Of course, there are a number of factors to account for these statistics, but regardless, there is clearly still work to be done to close the talent gap, a topic MHI broached in the 2020 MHI Annual Industry Report. Companies need to create and implement strong diversity and inclusion initiatives in order to recruit top diverse talent. And for rising generations in the workforce, it’s working. This year’s MHI survey found that while only 20% of the supply chain workforce over 55 is female, that number jumps to 56% for workers age 18-34. Programs focused on recruiting and retaining diverse talent can help close the industry-wide talent gap that so many companies are facing.
To download the 2020 MHI Annual Industry Report and discover strategies for recruiting and retaining talent, visit mhi.org/publications/report.
To read the full Wall Street Journal article on the Gartner report, visit https://www.wsj.com/articles/survey-shows-more-women-moving-into-top-supply-chain-jobs-11595353012
