Diversity in the supply chain

Claire Rychlewski at Kinaxis argues that overcoming the diversity issue in supply chain delivers better outcomes for all

 

According to a survey conducted by Tech Nation of UK technology companies, only 22% of directors and even fewer (19%) workers in the industry are women.

 

This level of under representation is of course disappointing as the opportunity for women to pursue exciting careers, and for tech companies and their clients to benefit from the innovation that diversity of thinking often creates, is being missed. 

 

This issue, however, is still not just one for the tech sector. Working with supply chain leaders and teams globally, it’s clear that it is also an issue for the supply chain industry, with the statistics for women in supply chain not much better than for women in technology.

 

Each year, Gartner conducts a survey on Women in the Supply Chain. The 2022 report reveals that only 39% of the overall workforce within supply chain are female, a decrease of 2% in comparison with the  2021 figures.

 

However, the percentage of First-line Managers & Supervisors (34%) Senior Managers (30%), Directors (28%) all rose over the previous year following a positive overall trajectory, even though the percentage of Vice Presidents and Senior Directors fell slightly from 23% to 21%.

 

There are many great articles out there about how we need to be aware of unconscious bias when hiring and to make sure we are opening our nets wide enough to find the hidden female talents in our networks, as well as how we can help our companies appreciate and be comfortable with the different styles of expressing ourselves and the leadership qualities that women can bring.

 

These messages are important, and so is the need for companies to focus on changing their cultures, of course. However, they can sometimes give the impression that women are powerless in the face of circumstance or cultural norms, which is not the case. There are countless examples of brilliant people across both the tech and supply chain industry that inspire individuals to be the best they can be and that prove there is a global network of leaders out there looking for the right people at all levels to help them drive business transformation.

 

Embracing change

The globalisation of work, communications and the global nature of supply chains, in particular, are rapidly driving change across borders, as more people become inspired by what they see in other countries and the excepted norms change.

 

Even across Europe, there are astute differences between how embedded in society changes are. In Denmark, for example, income and gender equality is taken for granted. The fictional but much discussed Law of Jante “don’t think you are better than anyone else” is inside the school system and in every walk of life.

 

This isn’t one sided either. Men are also allowed much more flexibility to spend time with their children or in childcare. In France and the UK, whilst not as advanced as Denmark, there is a strong sense from the majority that who you are and what your capable of is much more important than whether you’re female or male. 

 

Certainly, with the generations Z’s and millennials whom have been in the workplace now for some time. Whilst the data speaks for itself, this needs to be more than just about women. It’s about changing our thinking and culture within organisations to embrace the differences and ideas that everyone brings.

 

Leaders by example

Despite the statistics that state there aren’t many women in supply chain roles, the recent Gartner Supply Chain Symposium in Barcelona was in contrast a spirited hub of discussion with many female supply chain leaders, transformation leaders, Gartner analysts and technologists.

 

The diversity this year was inspiring, as was the focus on #peoplematter by the keynote of Magnus Lindkvist - the futurologist who talked about how to create cultures of innovation by dancing with the rules and building teams that are diverse and comfortable with creative friction. Something Margaret Heffernan, one of my great influences, talks about often in her Ted Talks.

 

As a leader in the technology and supply chain space, I’m also lucky and grateful to be able to spend time with women who are leading some of the world’s largest supply chains and digital transformations, such as Ayse Gul and Sophie Pendlebury at BAT, Sophie Gaspard and the team at Mars, Monique Rupert at Genpact and Karen White at Accenture and many more.

 

Great leadership is about hiring and being comfortable leading teams of people from different cultures, backgrounds, countries, and education systems more than it is gender. In the many technology companies I’ve worked for, it’s the diversity of the teams, their openness to accept differences between people across all spectrums that drives the most creative, emphatic, collaborative and successful outcomes. 

 

The IT and supply chain industry need to support and actively encourage this diversity of voice in public events and take responsibility to connect networks and elevate the stories of people driving change and transformation and those who inspire us, so they can inspire others.

 

People matter

Any business should have a passion for its people and should be built on a guiding principle that represents the foundation for building a company culture where differences are celebrated, equality is continually strived for, and inclusion is recognised as a great strength.

 

This drives the innovation that enables a company to lead in its market and represents how it engages in partnerships and with its customers. This takes effort and a willingness to break the unconscious biases we will live with.

 

We should all surround ourselves with people that share their stories and let us share our own, who raise us up and believe in us, but also those that challenge us to be the best version of ourselves.

 

Working with and for companies and people that trust our talents, encourage us to grow and aim to build a culture of collaboration and creative friction where respectful disagreement and diversity of thinking is celebrated, means everyone can flourish.

 

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Claire Rychlewski is EVP & SVP EMEA at Kinaxis

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com