According to a , women representation in C-suite supply chain roles has risen from 19% in 2022 to 26% in 2023. Encouragingly, there has also been an increase in the percentage of women in the supply chain workforce, from 39% to 41%. While these are considered positive shifts in the industry, there is a notable lag in the percentage of frontline roles held by women in this space, ranging from 26% to 34% across various leadership levels.

In a recent panel discussion hosted by the 麻豆原创 North America Business Women鈥檚 Network and EY Women in 麻豆原创, women supply chain leaders shed light on some important trends, challenges, and strategies for advancing women in supply chain.

The discussion was moderated by Lori Foster, managing director for EY 麻豆原创 Consulting. On the panel, I was joined by Etosha Thurman, chief marketing and solutions officer for 麻豆原创 Intelligent Spend & Business Network, Regenia Sanders, partner at EY Business Consulting, and Angelee Tango, manager for EY 麻豆原创 Extended Warehouse Management. Opening remarks were provided by Yolanda Kirksey, 麻豆原创 Alliance leader and director for 麻豆原创 Ariba U.S. Go-to-Market for EY.

A few key strategies emerged from the discussion for how organizations can help to elevate women in supply chain:

1. Support the choice to stay with flexibility

A consequence of the global pandemic was a moment of reassessment for women juggling full-time careers with responsibilities at home. In that moment, many women (and men) chose to shift their priorities outside of work or simply had to make that shift to address the needs at home. What we as business leaders can learn from observing this trend is the need to create environments that support women and accommodate work-life balance.

An important point called out in this panel discussion is that work-life balance looks different for everyone. Organizations must set an expectation of respect and boundaries that allow for all employees to manage the many responsibilities they have outside of work — regardless of marital status, if they have children or grandchildren, or if they are a caregiver in another capacity. A culture supportive of pursuing career aspirations while maintaining a healthy balance in personal life empowers women to effectively set and maintain boundaries as well as seek help when needed.

2. Recruit for top skills to succeed in supply chain roles

The panel named skills like curiosity, customer focus, relationship building, change management, crisis management, and communication as both crucial factors for success in this field and areas in which women tend to excel, citing the . Collaboration was underscored by several panelists as essential. Tango shared, 鈥淔rom determining the technology we want to use to the final stage of implementation, the need to continuously evaluate requires everyone to be on board.鈥�

The panel suggested that having more women engaged in these transformative projects helping facilitate collaboration is a strategic way to support innovation that sticks. As Sanders stated, 鈥淢aking sure [internal stakeholders鈥橾 input is being heard when gathering requirements is a critical difference-maker to having an organization that actually embraces technology versus being intimidated by it.鈥�

3. Provide forums that encourage open discussion

At any stage in your career, it can be helpful to hear of the challenges other women supply chain professionals have faced and how they overcame them. What Foster shared on this topic stood out to me: 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy for people to see where you are today, but not what you went through to get there.鈥� That sense of mutual respect and understanding helps to build confidence.

Role models also play an important role. Thurman spoke to the importance of representation: 鈥淪eeing people who look like you and can manage a life like you is important to how we move forward.鈥�

Of the many valuable individual takeaways from this discussion, a few specific pieces of advice resonated with me for women looking to elevate their careers in supply chain:

1. Set and hold boundaries where they make sense for you

You must be willing to reshape your own conceptions of how you need to be perceived and what your role needs to be. Instead of trying to meet this picture-perfect standard, work from an understanding of what you want and need so you can set and maintain reasonable boundaries with a career that requires significant flexibility.

2. Know that you belong and operate in that way

As a woman working in a male-dominated field, it is likely that you will experience moments where you or your contributions are slighted, discounted, or ignored. While we are working to change that behavior, when this happens it鈥檚 important to remember to focus on what you want to achieve. If you feel that you are not yet at a point in your career to remedy the situation directly, ask for help.聽

3. Use your voice

There is an advantage to being different. If you are one woman in a room of 50 men and you can clearly articulate your point well, you will be remembered. As you build your brand, opportunities will follow. And when you have the chance to support other women in your field, lend your voice to advocate, guide, and champion the next generation of leaders.

There is a lot that we can learn from each other, in and across industries. These leaders conveyed inspiring journeys in their supply chain careers where they have encountered and continue to navigate a wide spectrum of challenges, but also have found fulfillment in this line of work. This open discussion represented a significant stride toward acknowledging the challenges, opportunities, and collective efforts needed to empower and elevate women in supply chain.

As these forums continue, my hope is that they will not only support and inspire women through a vast network of supply chain professionals, but also drive toward a more equitable and inclusive supply chain landscape.

Darcy MacClaren is chief revenue officer for 麻豆原创 Digital Supply Chain.

With an understanding of this and as a testament to two of 麻豆原创 Corporate Social Responsibility鈥檚 focus areas 鈥� collaborate for sustainability and accelerate social business 鈥� 麻豆原创 launched a new program in partnership with the global nonprofit organization (CXC). ChangemakerXchange is an international community that connects more than 1,000 members in 130 countries around the world, providing safe, supportive, fun, and empowering spaces so that changemakers may create, sustain, and scale positive change.

CXC identifies a changemaker as a dedicated social entrepreneur, innovator, or activist, typically between the ages of 16 and 30. On a base level, CXC aims to create a community of supportive peers for the exchange of knowledge, tools, and resources to help prevent burnout and increase changemakers鈥� personal sustainability as they tackle the most pressing issues facing our planet. ChangemakerXchange primarily does this through hosting five-day summits that foster lasting connections, nurture well-being, and enable peer learning and meaningful connections.

麻豆原创 supported a North America-focused summit last month. Twenty women and gender-diverse climate changemakers participated in the Gender and Climate Action Summit in upstate New York to connect with one another and dive into sessions focused on human connection, well-being, peer learning, and collaboration. Nick McGirl, one of the co-founders of ChangemakerXchange, worked alongside 麻豆原创 CSR to curate this cohort of participants. He reinforced the significance of these customized meetups: 鈥淕ender inequality and the planetary crisis are deeply interwoven. Women and girls experience the greatest impact of climate change, which then amplifies existing gender injustices, even within the social entrepreneurship sector. 麻豆原创’s support has enabled us to connect and support some of the most promising women climate action changemakers from North America and Canada.鈥�

The changemakers spent nearly a week connecting with one another to share the various challenges and successes they鈥檝e had while developing their social businesses. study conducted in 2021 by an alliance of 16 of the world鈥檚 leading youth social innovation networks showed that 66% of young changemakers cannot cover their financial needs solely through the work from their initiative, meaning they have to look elsewhere for financial compensation and security. The sentiment that young changemakers are sacrificing their personal finances and well-being to make a change in the world was reinforced among participants at the North American summit. The participants also echoed that their greatest needs included access to funding, networking, and collaboration, highlighting the need for the ChangemakerXchange community. I had the privilege of attending this summit to witness firsthand the power of collective action and meet some of the young women leading the charge to leave a better planet than the one they inherited.

is a leader at , which seeks to empower educators as changemakers who transform and inspire students to create a more sustainable world by providing systems thinking training and tools. She described the most impactful part of the summit as the 鈥渙pportunity to reflect on my 鈥榳hy鈥� for this work, in both formal and informal spaces鈥earing our concurrent journeys to how we got to where we are and what we鈥檙e passionate about is really inspiring and grounding.”

Mikellena Nettos of highlighted the importance of 鈥渕eeting like-minded women that are doing their best to take on climate action on all scales, learning, and growing with them.鈥� Georgia Scott is the co-founder and co-executive director of , which bridges the gap between intersectional environmentalism and sustainable action through international fellowships and educational platforms. She also found tremendous value in connecting with other like-minded changemakers, both professionally and personally.

In sessions such as Changemaking River and Open Space Technology, participants and facilitators led conversations around topics ranging from fundraising to environmental racism, boundaries and mental health, and leadership. The final day included a Truth Mandela, where participants were able to share their fears and the anger they have related to the climate crisis, as well as the passion and hopes they have to create positive change. 鈥淚 felt so empowered to be surrounded by many other young women in the climate and biodiversity space鈥 loved the raw and real emotion and supportive community we built through the Truth Mandela,鈥� one participant conveyed.

Having experienced the summit in person, I can attest to the importance of such a collaborative, unique space. It is easy to feel overwhelmed as an individual when you consider the mounting challenges facing our climate, our communities, and subsequently our families. It is easy to feel like your actions alone will not make a significant difference. Above all, it can be easy to lose hope. The young women I met in New York inspired a newfound confidence in the promise of our planet鈥檚 future. Most of their organizations focus on galvanizing their peers to increase awareness and prioritize sustainable practices. There is a growing movement with promising leaders at the forefront that gives me optimism regarding climate action.

I walked away from the summit with an appreciation for the framework that organizations like ChangemakerXchange provide to guide activists on their changemaking paths. This summit was the first of its kind in North America and 麻豆原创 is excited to grow this partnership globally in 2023 and beyond 鈥� helping to remove some of the obstacles that our brightest, young changemakers face on their journeys to do good on a local and global scale. We look forward to offering employee engagement opportunities as part of these summits for those interested in getting involved.

Logan Applewhite is part of North America Corporate Social Responsibility at 麻豆原创.