Women bring true value but why are they still a minority in logistics?

News Video Interview

There has been a lot of talk around levelling the playing field in the logistics and supply chain industry for women. It is clear that the more diverse the sector is, the better it will perform. But the big questions is why are women still a minority?

‘This is a field that has traditionally been dominated by men, much more so than many other areas. But there are a lot of different ways for women to break into the industry. I think that provides more opportunities. It makes it a little bit easier,’ says Sandra Rothbard from Freight Matters for an exclusive video interview with The Logistics Point. Learn more about the role of women in logistics in our April Magazine Edition here!

Opportunities are more but Covid affected equality in a way that it is harder for women to achieve their goals. ‘There are positives and negatives for women working in the industry, sadly, in some instances, it has got worse, in other ways it has created opportunity,’ comments Joanna Pearson, Operations Director at DeliveryApp, during her interview with The Logistics Point.

There’s plenty of evidence that women really took the brunt of a lot of the issues during COVID. Women tended to pick up all the slack when it came to childcare and even housework. How can the industry promote more women?

For Sandra Rothbard the answer is through a re-design. Are we designing trucks to be driven by women who may be smaller or have different needs? Are we designing equipment that’s in warehousing to actually fit women so they are able to drive it easier or the equipment that helps move goods around? Are we hiring women at the same rate?

Joanna Pearson says she has received great support from women in the industry. ‘Probably in this day and age, we shouldn’t have to have the conversation about women and logistics. But I do feel that there certainly are more women like myself in very key positions with some excellent companies, Pearson goes on.

You can watch Sandra Rothbard’s and Joanna Pearson’s video interviews now in our April edition here!

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