Why women could be the answer to supply chain’s future
Sian Hopod, EVP BluJay Solutions“Bros”
February 18, 2022
“I’ve seen for myself the effect diversity can have.”
—Sian HopodEVP, Local Business Units at BluJay Solutions
The gist:
With figures suggesting that “75% of companies plan to make changes to build more resilient supply chains,” following the pandemic shortfalls, Sian Hopod, with 15 years of experience in the industry, shares that she believes":
One of the most effective for boosting innovation, creativity and flexibility could come from having more women in the supply chain.
She notes that the obstacles for women’s entry include, “everything from a lack of technical or logistical education in girls’ schools to women being overlooked for top jobs at interview.” And says this about her first hand experience as one of the only women in the industry was like for her in the beginning:
When I started in the logistics industry, there was no space for a ‘diversity and inclusion’ agenda. As a woman, I stood out, and it heavily influenced the way I was treated. More than once, I was told to “pop the kettle on, love”. The easiest way to divert attention away from my gender and onto the quality of my work was to adapt how I acted – to become like the male colleagues who surrounded me. Though this may have helped me to fit in with the existing environment, it certainly didn’t encourage its people to change.
Now she promotes the idea that “the best changes will come from the industry.” For her part, she has established twp key programs at BluJay Solutions:
The BluJay Women’s Network enables “women to connect and support one another in a safe space. Open to both female and male members,” and forms “a core value at the company: to keep an open and respectful mindset.”
The Emerging Leaders Programme [sic] at BluJay is “a mentoring scheme where more senior members share their experience and guidance with up-and-coming leaders.”
Hopod knows that “what’s more important is proving that the input of women is driving the business forward. With a committed approach to giving women the opportunity to show their skills, dramatic changes to the make-up of leadership in the industry are more likely to take place.”
The Stats:
BluJay research shows that 75% of supply chain managers expect to make moderate to extreme changes to their operations due to the pandemic, enabling them to become more resilient.
More women in the transport industry means improved decision-making, creativity and innovation, according to a 2018 European Commission study.
Another study notes that more diverse teams have a vast impact on the organisation’s [sic] ability to attract top talent, improve employee satisfaction and decision-making, and boost customer orientation.
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