Women’s Representation in Supply Chain Survey Finds Mixed Results
Women make up 40 percent of the supply chain workforce, indicating that their representation in such roles has stalled, a new study by global research and advisory firm Gartner in collaboration with AWESOME, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization focused on advancing women’s supply chain leadership, has found.
That’s a 1-percentage point decline from last year’s survey, which saw large gains.
Still, the 2024 report, the ninth annual Gartner/AWESOME Women in Supply Chain survey, found some gains in front-line operations roles. Although there was a 5-percentage-point increase to 36 percent, it wasn’t enough to overcome the overall plateau.
To increase women’s representation and not minimize the gains of previous years, chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) must focus more on inclusive leadership and accountability pertaining to attracting and retaining women in supply chain roles, the report found. “Looking at the results overall, there are fewer supply chain organizations meeting these criteria than in 2023,” it says. “Should decreased CSCO commitment continue, we expect flat or diminished progress in 2025.”
The 2024 report surveyed 214 companies with US$100 million or more in revenue; they included supply chain organizations in the consumer/retail, industrial and life science/health-care sectors as well as supply chain solution providers.
While not surprising, the plateau in women’s supply chain representation was disappointing, says Dana Stiffler, vice president and distinguished analyst in Gartner’s supply chain practice. The Stamford, Connecticut-based research and advisory company had hoped for the gains that began in 2023 would continue.
Also concerning, Stiffler says, is that there were only slight gains in women at supervisor/manager and senior manager levels — each rose 1 percentage point from last year to 35 percent and 32 percent, respectively. “If you’re not doing well at those levels in a pipeline, that means that the rest of your pipeline won’t be healthy,” she says.
Another issue: Organizations continue to grapple with engagement and attrition at middle-manager levels. Why women leave for other roles remained the same: better pay and greater career opportunities.
Driving the stall in representation, Stiffler says, are three factors:
Pay equity has become less of a focus for organizations. According to the survey, a lower percentage of supply chain organizations have plans to close pay gaps, while a higher percentage of respondents said their organizations had no plans to do so. Still, according to Gartner, compensation is the No. 1 factor in recruitment as well as a contributor to job satisfaction.
And, the report states, “Failure to demonstrate pay equity combined with reduced flexibility in work policy is degrading many companies’ employer brands, with women among the most affected. This hurts pipelines and puts supply chain performance at risk.”
Institute for Supply Management®’s (ISM®) annual Salary Survey, which looks into compensation by role and gender according to respondent survey, has consistently found gender pay inequity, including in this year’s results.
Formal goals are lacking. “While 70 percent of supply chain organizations have an objective or goal to increase the number of women leaders in supply chain organizations,” the press release stated, “only 29 percent have direct accountability for this goal on their management scorecards.” The latter is a 4-percentage-point decrease from 2023 findings.
CSCOs aren’t leading their initiatives. Survey results show a shrinking between supply chain leadership engagement and action, Stiffler said. This means they are more heavily relying on the human resources function to handle diversity, equity and inclusion matters.
Stiffler’s recommendations for improving women’s representation in supply chain roles includes (1) prioritizing inclusive leader development, (2) developing/training women in middle- and lower-level roles and (3) reduce recruitment gender bias.
(Photo credit/Alvarez)