Panelists, presenters share insights on how to succeed in supply chain as a woman

In the past 24 months or so, I’ve watched with interest as MHI proclaimed multiple initiatives to attract and retain the next generation of diverse supply chain workers to our industry, particularly women. After 20 years (gasp!) of attending MHI-sponsored events like MODEX, I wasn’t quite certain how a white male-dominated organization would pull that off.

However, because I know the indomitable Devon Birch—MHI’s Director of Membership and coordinator of MHI’s Young Professionals Network (YPN)—had been tasked with pulling the majority of the weight on this (potential) bandwagon, I was moderately optimistic.

Then, MHI gave her both the backing and the budget to plan a full day of programming on Tuesday, hosted by none other than Ralph Henderson, supply chain veteran and president of OmniChannel Productions, and himself an enthusiastic proponent of increased diversity in our industry.

So, what’s up?

“There’s really, truly been committed support from MHI’s Board of Governors to attract more fresh faces to supply chain careers—they get it,” Birch told me. “And, the industry as a whole is demonstrating more inclusiveness than ever before. We’re seeing more young professionals, more diversity, and more women—who are not just exclusively in marketing and communications roles anymore. It’s very encouraging.”

Of Tuesday’s YPN event, the “New Generation Supply Chain Workforce,” diversity and inclusion were at the fore, yes. But the women dominated the discussion. Half of the content was dedicated to women in the supply chain—encouraging them, supporting them, mentoring them, sponsoring them.

The morning started with an industry panel of women in the field who discussed “The Supply Chain: It’s Not Just for the Guys Anymore.” They shared the challenges that come with being a female supply chain industry professional and the strategies they’ve used to cope. Those who attended heard their experiences and perspectives on being a woman in the industry, and got advice on how both men and women can mentor and support the new generation of female leaders.

As it turns out, the panel noted, although more women are entering our field as a whole, they only represent approximately 10% of supply chain leadership.

(Truth be told, 10% was higher than I would have guessed.)

But before the “old boys’ network” of insiders high-five each other with an abundance of enthusiasm at that “whopping” 10%, understand that’s not enough. In fact, having women at the highest levels of your operation makes excellent business sense, regardless of where your company fits into this industry of ours—supplier, OEM, integrator, end user, association or academia.

Just ask Dr. Nancy Nix, executive director of the AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management and Education) Network, and former executive director of the EMBA Program in Supply Chain Practice at Texas Christian University.

“Research suggests that 80% of consumer purchasing decisions are made by women,” she observed. “If I’m a company that sells consumer products, I want a diverse set of leadership making decisions about how we deliver value to customers. It’s not a men-versus-women issue; it’s how do we bring together both sides to make better, more informed decisions.”

Further, if women want to ascend to those leadership positions, we need to understand how our own natural tendencies can prevent us from succeeding in the workplace, said author Valerie Alexander, who shared “How Women Can Succeed in the Workplace (Despite Having ‘Female Brains’),” in the last YPN session of the day.

Alexander’s talk explored 2 million years of evolution of the gendered brain, and its relationship to what is rewarded in what she calls ‘male-designed businesses.’

“Today’s business hierarchies are not about male domination. The system evolved by virtue of who got to design it—men,” she said. “In a male-designed system, quick, confident decision making is the most highly rewarded trait.”

Yet, quick decision-making is contrary to women’s tendency to analyze, reason and build consensus, she said. “Women need to get comfortable with making a decision, presenting it confidently and moving forward with it.”

Alexander gave practical tips to a rapt audience of both women and men about how women can project confidence through the language they use when sharing ideas in a business setting.

“We should present ourselves in a way that says, ‘I am open to being debated, but not dismissed,’” she explained. “Women have a natural, consensus-building instinct. But sharing your idea by first saying, ‘I might be wrong’ or, ‘Would everyone agree…’ places us at a huge disadvantage.”

Alexander also gave male leaders (several of whom were in attendance, and, incidentally, none were cowering under their chairs) actionable items to help them understand that women don’t share the male sense of hierarchy.

“For example,” she continued, “women are more concerned with the outcome of an idea than about whose idea it was. Men are not evil oppressors; they’re inheriting a system that was designed to reward them more than women. Today’s men don’t want that—they want to focus on getting the best outcome, too.”

Further, MHI brought Alexander back on Wednesday morning, hosting her in their booth to sign copies of her book—available on Amazon.com—that shares the same title as her talk.

It was an encouraging sight, and one I hope to see continue at ProMat, along with more women and diversity. MHI’s started down the right path.

Keep it up—guys.