For decades, women have faced significant barriers breaking into the supply chain and logistics industry, battling stereotypes, limited opportunities for mentorship and advancement, and an overall lack of representation. Despite these challenges, women have found ways to open new doors in recent years, as they carve out space and pave the way for future generations.

The path toward equity hasn't been an easy one for women in the industry, and even today, it's still very much a work in progress. According to Gartner's 2024 "Women in Supply Chain" survey, women represent 40% of the supply chain workforce, down one point from the previous year's report. And while 70% of organizations say that they're trying to increase the number of women leaders, less than 30% have direct accountability for this goal included in their management scorecards.

"Whenever you enter a traditionally male environment — which this has been for a very long time — there's an expectation that leadership looks or acts a certain way, or there's a certain array of talents and skills that maybe won't be welcome in the environment," says Lisa Backlin, the vice president of supply chain at food service parts and equipment distributor Parts Town Unlimited.

Even so, Backlin has seen signs of progress, driven in part by the growing availability of supply chain programs at universities, which in the past had only offered broader business and finance degrees. Now more than ever, she adds, women can decide early on to pursue a specialized career in supply chain operations, and acquire the knowledge, expertise and connections they need to enter the enter the workforce fully equipped.

Backlin also points to how the pandemic made supply chains far more visible to average people, as they experienced firsthand how disruptions could lead to shortages for any number of everyday products they might have taken for granted.

"There was all of a sudden this connection, where things that influenced your home, your life, your family, your community, were suddenly on hold," she says.

For many in the years that followed, that awareness translated into interest at the career level, all while "most organizations opened their doors to different ways of thinking about their supply chains," Backlin says. That in turn created more opportunities for women to learn about what the industry has to offer, and then get involved in roles they previously had never considered, Backlin says.

Women in Trucking

While executive and operational roles have become far more accessible and desirable for women over the years, that hasn't been the case for every supply chain career. In a 2023 survey of 700 women truckers from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), one in six said that they experienced harassment or discrimination based on their gender on a daily basis, while nearly a third said that they believe it's harder to be a truck driver as a woman because of negative attitudes other drivers, motor carriers and shippers have about them. Women in the survey also reported having a harder time accessing safe parking, restrooms, and exercise facilities than their male counterparts. 

Read More: ‘Sisters of the Road’ — A Woman Driver’s Life in Trucking

Addressing those issues requires a two-fold approach, says Backlin. The first piece is representation, given that women made up less than 7% of truckers in the U.S. in 2023, according to the ATRI. The other part is figuring out why women aren't gravitating toward trucking careers in the first place, which could mean admitting that "maybe the job was never great in the first place," looking at why that is, and then finding ways to improve those conditions.

"How do we think about different aspects of how we operate, and how do we do things that are more flexible and out of the box?" Backlin posits. "My job is to attract the talent, and if no one's interested, I'm missing something."

Getting Started

For women already working in high-level supply chain roles, Backlin stresses the importance of not just mentorship, but also sponsorship, where a leader advocates openly for someone they've taken under their wing, instead of limiting the mentor/mentee relationship strictly to career advice. In practice, that means pulling people forward and giving them a platform to show that they have the skills to survive and thrive. 

"I think sometimes with developing women for opportunities, we forget the fact that they're already smart, that they've already earned their way into the door in the role they're in," she says. "The real win is for me to be savvy enough as a leader to see where the talent is, open the door, get them at the table, keep my mouth quiet, and let them show off how amazing they are."

Anyone considering a career in supply chain should also take the time to consider what exactly they want that journey to look like, Backlin adds. From inventory demand planning, to safety, to warehouse management, there's no shortage of options — it all just depends on what particular aspect of those jobs someone finds most appealing. 

There are organizations out there today that make themselves available to young women starting out in the industry as well, with Backlin highlighting Supply Chain Gals as a helpful career development resource for students and professionals alike. The group boasts more than 20,000 members, and offers women access to management showcases, live panels and roundtables, job search workshops, mentorship circles, and quarterly networking events.

"There are a zillion of us who've been doing this for a while, and we would love to hear from you," Backlin says. "Think of the things that mean a lot to you, and know that supply chain has the whole breadth of that front of you."