Logistics Firms Diversify Hiring

More women and people from underrepresented communities are now working in logistics, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s happening: “Women made up about 39% of supply-chain employees, from distribution center workers to C-suite executives, as of May this year, down slightly from 41% last year but up from 37% in 2018, according to research firm Gartner Inc. . . . People of color held 32% of all supply-chain positions as of May, up from 30% the prior year, the first year for which data was available, according to Gartner.”

• The share of both women and people of color in logistics declined “higher up the corporate ladder,” however.

Fewer women: The recent dip in the number of women workers in supply chain jobs may be due largely to child-care challenges.

• “Some 3.5 million women who are mothers lost their jobs, took leave or left the U.S. job market during the Covid-19 pandemic as they found themselves without options for child care, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.”
• Learn more: The Manufacturing Institute will dive deeper into this topic in its Dec. 6 webinar “Breaking Barriers: Childcare and Flexibility Solutions for the Manufacturing Industry.” Register here.

Challenges remain: There is still work to be done, however. Last year, male supply chain workers earned significantly more than their female counterparts, according to a study cited by the Journal, and people who identified as white in the survey made more than those who identified as either Asian or Black.

• Another barrier? “Racially-charged jokes, ribald banter and other inappropriate behavior by workers at distribution centers create barriers for people of color and women who are interested in pursuing careers in logistics.”