This year has presented a record number of finalists, proving female representation is on the rise across traditionally male-dominated industries. Women representing some of Australia’s leading companies in the supply chain highlight the importance of having diverse workplaces that reflect strong leaders in underrepresented groups.
“If your workforce is not as diverse as the world we live in, you are putting the prosperity of your business at risk. Having diversity of thought and experience not only reduces risk but increases ideation and innovation,” Hayley Jarick, CEO at Supply Chain Sustainability School says.
The 2020 Women in Industry Awards recognise and reward the achievements of women working within various industries including logistics and transport. This annual event is an opportunity to highlight excellence and is a form of empowerment for women by putting the spotlight on female rising stars changing the agenda across a depth of sectors represented.
Representing the supply chain industry, Marie Varrasso, Head of Supply Chain at Officeworks, is a finalist for the Mentor of the Year award and Hayley Jarick, CEO at Supply Chain Sustainability School is a finalist for the Industry Advocacy Award. Representing leadership in industrial property, Stefanie Frawley, Director of Portfolio Management at Colliers International is a finalist for Business Development Success of the Year Award.
Through acknowledging outstanding individuals, the program, according to Prime Creative Media General Manager – Events, Simon Coburn, hopes to shine a light on these industries as great career choices for other women.
“This year has seen a record number of nominees across all ten categories,” Simon says. This year’s nominations come from the highest number of businesses and organisations the program has ever seen, demonstrating the broad reach and increasing awareness of the Awards.
Advancing diversity in supply chain
Advocacy, professionalism and empowerment of women in supply chain, logistics and transport is what it means for Hayley to be named a finalist in this year’s Women in Industry awards.
“Firstly, we need to stop asking what women can do,” Hayley, a finalist for the Industry Advocacy Award says. According to Australian Industry Standards, the transport and logistics industry has an estimated annual revenue of $96.65 billion, adding $39.95 billion to the Australian economy. It employs nearly half a million people across its major subsectors including road transport, logistics, and warehousing.
However, according to a 2019 research paper on examining gender equality in one of Australia’s largest industries, the transport industry rates as one of the lowest in Australia for gender diversity, as just 26.4 per cent of the workforce are women, far lower than the all industry average of 46.9 per cent.
Among other factors such as awareness, advancements in technology are changing the employment opportunities for women, with job roles that were once considered impractical or too dangerous now a viable option. According to Diversity Australia, workforce surveys show that the female transport and logistics employees have, on average, higher education levels than their male counterparts, with 18.3 percent achieving a diploma or higher, compared with 11.7 percent of males.
This demonstrates that women have the desire, skills and knowledge to meet job role requirements in the changing and advancing industry.
“So, we need to stop asking what underrepresented groups can do to increase their representation and start asking leaders, why aren’t women taking advantage of your opportunities and what are you going to do about it?” Hayley says.
She thinks that setting targets, goals or quotas incentivise organisations to address systemic issues that cause imbalances and enable the use of innovative programs to remedy the problem.
“Measuring and reporting ensure that outcomes are being rewarded, not effort. If your board is 100 per cent men, then you have been unconsciously recruiting men. There are more than enough competent, willing and able women ready for you when you are ready,” Hayley says.
She is utilising her finalist nomination to encourage men in the supply chain to start with their leadership and unlock opportunity.
“Equalise the gender composition on your board and your executive, even if at first it looks tokenistic. This will show potential female employees you are serious and help to drive out subconscious biases in your culture from the top down that are toxic to diversity.”
Navigating supply chain challenges through leadership
Marie leads supply chain operations at Officeworks, and she says she was inspired by her father who was a forklift driver with the Victorian Railways.
“He would bring home the monthly newsletters that talked to international exports, ships, planes and trains, and how Australian raw materials and staples would be exported overseas,” she says.
Supply chain became second nature to her mission has always been to increase the five to ten per cent gender ratio of the supply chain industry.
Marie has helped navigate her organisation through major disruption during the pandemic.
She believes resistance is the word of the year and being honest and transparent with your teams builds trust. “These qualities empower us as women, we are equipped to handle anything,” she says.
“We need to start by ensuring we build an inclusive work culture, source gender diverse talent, understand what unconscious bias is, and ensure equal compensation.
Female talent is still today one of the most under-utilised resources.” Marie says women tend to want to solve the world’s problems, but the world is ever evolving, what may have been right yesterday and today, may not suit tomorrow.
“Understand the resources around you and use them. I surround myself with resources that are far smarter than me and hold me to account. Go for excellence, because perfection does not exist.”
Her goals are continuing to mentor and pass on knowledge to the next generation of leaders, especially in her organisation. She believes there are three key focus areas during current supply chain challenges, and these are safety first, communication and adapting to customer behaviour.
“To better manage the increased order volumes out of our Customer Fulfilment Centres (during the peak of COVID-19) we adjusted our working patterns, for example, we ramped up to 24/7 operations right across the country within 72 hours,” she says. “There are big plans for Officeworks, and if I am able to make a positive difference in how we serve our customers and communities, and inspire women that anything is possible, then I would be achieving my goals.”
Stefanie is honoured to be named a finalist alongside other high achieving women within the industry and she too values the work she does for clients of Colliers International and has stepped outside of her comfort zone to learn new skills to navigate challenges and lead successful operations.
“Women should not feel they cannot or should not leverage opportunities as they present themselves, whether it be a promotion, a new challenge within their role or asking to be involved in a particular project,” Stefanie says.
Being recognised for her business development has highlighted her natural strengths in negotiations and believes support is required at all levels of management.
“Being a mother of two young children requires a supportive manager and supportive clients, and they recognise the need for flexibility which has allowed me continue to grow and succeed in my career,” she says.
Workplaces need to consider how their employees work and provide more flexibility. “As an example, a senior resource in a part-time capacity can provide output greater than a less experienced resource, however workplaces needs to be open and willing to change their own perception as this can be rewarding for the workplace and allow women to keep the balance, particularly after having children,” she says.
The evidence across the board of finalists is clear – it’s not just the right thing to do, increasing female representation has significant economic and business benefits.
Challenging the way people think and learning from others of diverse backgrounds will also enrich workplaces situated in these industries and it’s time to acknowledge and allow platforms for different viewpoints, ideas, market insights.