Retaining mid career women hinges on advancement and pay equity.
In 2022, women account for 19 per cent of C-level positions in the average supply chain organization, up from 15 per cent in 2021, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. and AWESOME. However, women comprise 21 per cent of VP-level roles, a decrease from 23 per cent last year, and 39 per cent of the total supply chain workforce are women, down from 41 per cent in 2021.
“Chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) remain committed to gender diversity, but this survey suggests that they will need to double-down on goal setting, leadership inclusion and career-pathing for women,” said Caroline Chumakov, senior principal analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice. “Compared to the last year, representation of women in supply chain has improved at the first-line manager/supervisor, senior manager and director levels of the supply chain organization, as well as at the senior-most level: the C-suite.”
The Women in Supply Chain survey was conducted online from February 24 through March 28, 2022, among 116 respondents primarily in North America. Of the 116 respondents, 85 were end-user organizations with internal supply chains, and 31 were supply chain business services and solutions. Organizations also had to have a minimum of $US100 million in annual revenue.
Global Organizations Lead the Way
There is a relationship between organizational size and purposeful goal setting which is driving improved representation of women in supply chain. Nearly 50 per cent of medium and large organizations ($US100 million to $US5 billion) have no objectives to increase the number of women leaders in their supply chain. However, 83 per cent of the largest, global organizations ($US5 billion+) have a stated objective to improve representation of women in leadership and 38 per cent have incorporated formal targets that appear on management scorecards.
“Global organizations have better pipelines and better representation of women underrepresented races and ethnicities,” said Chumakov. “They are also significantly more likely to have these women in a director position than medium or large organizations.”
The Great Resignation of Midcareer Women
Supply chain leaders who have seen improvements in gender-balanced representation in their organization should not become complacent in their efforts. Forty-three percent of supply chain leaders say the pandemic has had a net negative impact in the retention and progression of women in supply chain organizations over the past year. This is a significant uptick compared to the 2021 survey, where only 11 per cent said there was a negative impact. Over half of end-user organizations state retaining midcareer women is an increasing challenge, with an additional 19 per cent indicating it is a significant challenge.
According to end-user respondents, the top reason that midcareer women are leaving is because they lack career or advancement opportunities – an increase from last year’s responses. The fastest-climbing response is that women are seeking greater or more competitive compensation, coming in at second place with 43 per cent of responses, up from 24 per cent of responses in 2021.
Financial implications remain largely unaddressed by supply chain organizations. Only half have a targeted initiative focused on improving benefit offerings for women or closing the pay gap. Among those end-user organizations who say it is an objective, 27 per cent report that they have a specific plan to close the gender pay gap.
“While 14 per cent of end-user organizations stated they’ve already achieved pay equity, it is concerning that 59 per cent of respondents have no action plan to close the gap. In today’s hypercompetitive labour market where women are increasingly seeking out pay increases and ethical employers, these data points reveal a hidden attraction and retention risk,” Chumakov concluded.
