In March 2023, Christina Dennstedt — Manager Mid Market Sales, DACH — penned a blog about the role of women in the world of logistics and physical operations. 

She wrote eloquently about the ‘social, cultural and organisational barriers [that still] stand in the way of women’ while highlighting that despite the obstacles, it is a ‘fantastically rewarding sector to work in’. 

While she touched on issues such as unconscious bias and gender stereotypes, she also explained how ‘increasing female representation in technology is a critical part of our mission’ at Samsara. 

Indeed, a few months later Samsara was named as a Best Workplace for Women™ in the UK underlining the great changes that are happening across the industry. 

With contributions from other high-profile women from the sector, Christina wrote: “There is growing recognition of how diversity can bring innovation and improve problem-solving which is gradually helping to break down stereotypes about gender roles.

“I might be biased, but I believe that the logistics industry can offer women a diverse and fulfilling career. There are so many different roles to consider but what’s most rewarding for me is the fact that we work at the forefront of those critical operations that people rely on day to day.” 

To mark International Women’s Day 2024 — and in recognition that Christina’s blog was one of the most widely read in the last 12 months — we have decided to republish it.

International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women in Logistics

While logistics has long been seen as a male-dominated sector, women have made significant contributions to the industry in recent years, establishing themselves in a diverse array of roles from transportation and warehousing to supply chain management and procurement.

However, there’s still a long way to go to achieve gender balance in logistics. 

According to a recent European Commission study on women in transport, women make up approximately 20% of the logistics workforce in the EU—around the same percentage as in the tech sector. Much like the tech industry, representation varies by occupation, with 53% of women working in administrative and support roles such as office managers. In contrast, operational and technical roles like engineers remain monopolised by men. Only 2% of truck drivers are female. 

Social, cultural and organisational barriers stand in the way of women carving out a successful career in what—based on my experience and that of the women I spoke to for this blog—is a fantastically rewarding sector to work in for all genders.

At Samsara, increasing female representation in technology is a critical part of our mission, and so too is supporting the people behind the work that runs the world. For International Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight some of the challenges still faced by our female colleagues in the sector and, more importantly, celebrate the progress they’ve made in paving the way for a new generation of women to join them.

What are some of the challenges faced by women in logistics?

There’s no denying that gender stereotypes exist that suggest women are not as suited as men for jobs in logistics, especially given its outdated reputation as a more labour-intensive sector. As recruiter Michael Page points out, more operational working environments tend to have lower levels of diversity due to this misconception. 

“Women don't necessarily see where they can fit into businesses in the logistics sector. I think it probably has a lot to do with stereotypes. They see the operational roles as being more male. However, we have female engineers within our workforce,” said Haylie Orton, Head of Bids and Marketing at Lanes Group and one of our customers here at Samsara.

Consequently, women may be discouraged from considering logistics careers in the first place. If and once they do, they might be one of only a few women in their team or organisation, worsening potential issues of isolation or lack of support. 

These stereotypes also play out in the recruitment process. Unconscious bias can impact hiring processes, which is further compounded by an absence of policies like flexible working needed by many women who are primary caregivers. Similarly, logistics jobs that involve long or irregular hours and extended time away from home can also discourage women. 

And then there’s the problem of safety. Whether working in an office or staying overnight at a truck stop (often with inadequate facilities), some women may feel threatened without safety in numbers. Women in majority-male workplaces have been shown to report higher rates of sexual harassment than in female-dominated industries on average. 

“It is still a male-dominated industry,” said Lorraine Sculley, Head of Marketing at Fraikin, also a Samsara customer. “But it’s worth exploring to see if any organisations are doing things differently—you might be pleasantly surprised.” 

“I like to think that women will find it easier and easier to enter the industry, compared with 14 years ago when I started,” said Haylie. “There’s definitely been progress.”

Positive signs of change 

So, the good news is that these challenges are not insurmountable. Many organisations in the industry are waking up to the benefits of gender parity in the workplace, boosting their efforts to recruit more women and promote equality. 

There is growing recognition of how diversity can bring innovation and improve problem-solving which is gradually helping to break down stereotypes about gender roles. Recent PwC research demonstrated a link between a more gender-balanced workforce in logistics and higher financial returns. Those logistics businesses with more women on the board outperform their competitors by 16% in return on sales and 26% when comparing the return on invested capital.

“In my experience, when people think of logistics, stereotypically they think of tough blokes doing hard physical labour. But that misperception is changing, even for men. You see it in the way people treat each other and how we talk about the sector as a whole,” said Charlotte Olliver, Marketing Communications Manager for another of our customers, M Group Services. 

What’s more, technological advancement accelerated by the Covid pandemic has had a huge impact on the way the sector operates, opening up a wealth of new opportunities for women in areas like software development, data analytics, business development and digitalisation, alongside evolving roles in supply chain management and warehouse operations. 

“Logistics is such an exciting place to be right now due to this ongoing transformation. In the past 5 to 10 years data has become so critical. As we move into a new world of connected operations and accelerate innovations in areas like alternative fuels, there’s even more diversity in the roles out there,” said Lorraine.

While we’re seeing more women come through at entry level, representation at the top is also broadening. Having more women in leadership positions in logistics is a critical factor in fostering gender equality in the sector and it’s great to see significant strides being made by figures like Carol Tomé, the first female CEO at UPS, and Judy McReynolds, President and CEO of ArcBest—who also happens to be a Samsara customer too!

“There are many new job opportunities thanks to innovation in the sector. It’s just making sure that we shout about them enough so that women, and men, know what’s out there,” said Charlotte. 

“I’m making sure as part of our recruitment campaign that we eliminate any type of unconscious bias and keep everything fair and transparent. This has really helped—we have a diverse workforce which I’m actually really proud of,” said Naz Khanom, Head of People at Lanes Group.

Encouraging women to work in logistics 

I might be biased, but I believe that the logistics industry can offer women a diverse and fulfilling career. There are so many different roles to consider but what’s most rewarding for me is the fact that we work at the forefront of those critical operations that people rely on day to day. 

“Working in logistics is so rewarding. When you think of Covid, we had customers who were literally feeding the nation. Our work had a direct impact on the smooth running of those essential services like food, drink, building supplies, and the NHS,” said Lorraine.

The industry still has a lot of work to do to support women to thrive in a logistics career but it’s great to see the efforts being made by employers, policymakers, industry organisations and of course the women already in the field. Samsara wishes them all a Happy International Women’s Day!