The place of women in managerial and responsible positions has been growing significantly for several years. According to a study published by the Financial Times in May 2021, 57% of respondents say their organizations have taken more action in favor of parity over the last ten years. Agnès Damette’s analysis, president of Logitrade, specialist in supporting companies in the management of non-strategic purchases.
It is obvious that a global awareness of parity in management and governance is necessary, but already on the way. Having more women at the helm of companies is equivalent to having more women on boards of directors in public or private organizations. Indeed, female leaders of multi-sector companies said in a study that 43% of management members are women compared to 26% in those led by men. Too, women have initiated different management methods since they offer a less conventional dimension of management and closer to our younger generations.
Sectors that are still very male-dominated
In the supply chain sector, handling and logistics functions have less than 10% women. On the contrary, nine out of ten employees occupy positions where customer relations missions predominate. Despite an evolution of professions and a path towards their feminization, the supply chain remains predominantly male and this is sometimes explained by brand image issues causing a drop in attractiveness for female profiles. According to a Gartner survey (American technology consulting and research company) carried out in 2020, women are “underutilized in the so-called war for talent”, since only 17% occupy management positions and 13% senior management positions. At Logitrade, pride of place is given to parity with 70% women among our employees and 50% governance represented by women. Enough to shake things up within the supply chain ecosystem.
Make the sector more attractive for women
It is now essential to put an end to preconceived ideas regarding sectors of activity. Projects on the issue of working time management, training, the evolution of the images of certain professions and the establishment of a human resources policy in favor of diversity, are all actions to be implemented to attract female talent in the supply chain sector. Companies are now heading down this path : they deploy training and highlight the promise of a balance between professional and personal lives. This is also the case with Logitrade, which makes a point of establishing a balance between the two within its teams thanks to flexible working hours and the signing of an agreement for teleworking. Efforts still need to be made in training, particularly in the recognition of the legitimacy of women managers. If the education of generations goes in this direction, this also involves open discussions between colleagues.
Parity, a real gain for the company
The situation therefore tends to evolve, but there is still a way to go for companies to deploy true gender parity in the supply chain sector. A new lease of life is coming to the sector thanks to the deployment of CSR policies or thanks to actors who are committed to gender parity, convinced that it represents a real gain for the company. This is what we believe at Logitrade, and it is thanks to this objective that we arrived at a score of 96/100 on the 2021 gender equality index. It reflects our commitments to employees. Since no position can be intended for men, each person must recognize that diversity is an infinite resource of performance and complementarity.
