A Leadership Challenge

By Jim Davidson

As business leaders, what can we do to ensure women succeed in our industry?

This past autumn, I was invited to speak to a group of students at Humber College who were studying distribution and supply chain management as part of a post-graduate certificate program in marketing management.

There looked to be approximately eighty students in attendance, and I was surprised and delighted to see that roughly 75 percent of them were women.Considering they may well be our future business leaders, I hoped my presentation would entice some of them to specialize in supply chain management rather than other facets of marketing. If all they needed was a little encouragement, I’d gladly provide it. Sometimes it’s all we need to stay the course in uncertain times.
Woody Allen once commented that 80 percent of success is just showing up. If this is true, then the women I spoke to at Humber College are already well on their way. They have invested time and money in what they expect will lead to rewarding careers. They are banking on course content to give them the skills required to achieve a level of success in the workplace. They all want careers with excellent pay, benefits and opportunities. But can the business world deliver?

Certainly the current economic climate has everyone frozen in survival mode. But with challenge comes opportunity. So I pose this question: as business leaders, what can we do to ensure women succeed in our industry?

Over the past three years a number of very talented female logisticians have been addressing this issue through an initiative of The Logistics Institute known as Women in Logistics (WIL). In a relatively short time, a few dedicated women have built an infrastructure, created a national presence and heightened awareness of women in logistics. But is it enough to satisfy the career aspirations of those young women at Humber College? Time and continued effort will tell the story.
I hope for a happy story. The current recession may have slowed the WIL initiative somewhat, but despite fatigue, frustration and a lack of adequate resources, the enterprising leaders of WIL have laid a foundation for a movement that is badly needed in our industry. Sure, times are uncertain and scary. Like the rest of us, WIL’s Executive Committee has the option to retreat and protect its individual interests or move forward cautiously as a cohesive team. I’m in favour of teamwork—always.

The mission of WIL is to attract and support women in the development of a career in the supply chain logistics sector. Their target audience is women in business, corporations, the logistics community and its associations, and educational institutions. They are focused on influencing our industry at a number of levels, including this year’s SCM Conference.

Has the industry embraced WIL? Not as much as I would like. Attitudes and hiring practices are slowly changing. Women still have an uphill battle and victory can go either way. But to get more, you’ve got to give more. More women need to actively participate, including through leadership roles in WIL, to ensure its long-term survival. The future success of WIL is dependent upon the success of its individuals working as a team to better the organization—like many musketeers, one for all and all for one—working towards common goals

Despite the economic hardships that handicap our businesses, there is a growing audience for WIL. Some expect this recession will be kinder to women, allowing greater opportunity for more women to crack the glass ceiling and occupy executive offices for good. I applaud and encourage their efforts.  But what are you doing to help? Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? I challenge each and every one of you to find a way to support this initiative.