Today is International Women's Day — a time to acknowledge the incredible advancements of women in both their careers and personal pursuits. Here at ASCM, we proudly take this moment to shine a spotlight on the phenomenal women in our field who are innovators, trailblazers and leaders shaping the future of how goods move across the globe.
First, I’d like to recognize ASCM Board of Directors Chair Pamela Dow. Pamela has more than 35 years of experience in supply chain, operations, logistics and planning, having built her career at Tenneco and Johnson Controls International. Don't miss her newly published Q&A with ASCM Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Rennie, which delves into Pamela’s personal experiences in supply chain, advice for other women in the field and some insightful strategies for success.
Incidentally, ASCM’s Former Board President Lisa Veneziano spoke to Elizabeth last year about the essential role women have always played in supply chain and how much changed during her career. The great news here is that women’s inclusion in the field has grown exponentially. In fact, this week, Consumer Goods reports that 41% of the total supply chain workforce is composed of women. According to the article, PepsiCo recently launched a new ad campaign, “She Is PepsiCo,” to spotlight women on the company’s frontlines, such as truck drivers, mechanics and warehouse loaders. “Getting more women to apply for frontline roles doesn’t just positively impact the employees, but is also beneficial for their families and communities,” says Becky Schmitt, PepsiCo chief human resource officer, in the article.
Notably, PepsiCo’s supply chain is led by women: Karen Jordan is chief supply officer for PBNA, and Laura Maxwell is chief supply chain officer for PepsiCo Foods North America. Their presence reflects promising data from Gartner, which reveals that females now hold 26% of supply chain C-suite roles. However, both Gartner and Consumer Goods note that women frontline workers are underrepresented in supply chain. Gartner suggests that adding flexibility is the “most effective initiative in attracting and retaining women to frontline roles.”
In fact, The Wall Street Journal cites a new flexible-work program at Land O’Lakes that is doing a lot to attract women to its factories. Instead of requiring workers to stick to rigid, 12-hour shifts, employees in some roles can pick their own hours. “Across the company, Land O’Lakes is seeing twice the volume of applicants for each flex role as for full-time openings. Retention is better too,” the Journal notes.
Celebrate the women on your team and the teams they lead
Investing in women to accelerate progress is the theme of International Women’s Day this year, and we at ASCM are proud to see this reflected in our own leadership. Beyond that, we’re also committed to honor industry professionals such as Danielle Malave, performance and execution manager at Boeing Distribution Services, who was last year’s winner of the ASCM Award of Excellence — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion. Danielle effectively educates employees across Boeing about cultural differences, encourages participation in a variety of community service activities, and inspires her team to perform at their best.
No doubt there’s a woman on your team who deserves this kind of recognition. Or perhaps you know of a corporation that’s going the extra mile to improve representation of women in supply chain. Whoever inspires you, now’s the time to make their contributions known — the 2024 ASCM Awards of Excellence are open for submissions. Winners will be presented with their awards at ASCM CONNECT North America this September in Austin, Texas. Come for the awards, then stay for the world-class education, cutting-edge exhibitions and valuable networking!
