Observation of Girl Child Day supports more opportunities for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide. It reflects how successfully women have emerged in several areas.
It’s disappointing that the debate on discrimination against women in the labor force is pretty much an open topic and does affect all economic sectors and levels of responsibility. In some industries like logistics and transportation, the gap in gender representation is massive. It trumps any statistic that could indicate a trend of improvement.
Association of logistics work is with physical work and therefore considered a masculine sector. Upon a deeper look into the industry, we understand that a considerable amount of physical work such as machine operators and storage technicians are pretty much male-dominant. Whereas women hold positions primarily in service and administration.
The new technologies within the sector, whether it is process management or management of goods involving automation and robotics, must aim towards reduction of entry barriers for women, seeking a foothold in the industry. This is required as the logistics and transport sector turn into one of the main sources of employments, due to the pace at which the online sales market is developing recently.
Without a doubt, with developing technologies, the industry needs to make provision for equal foothold for both men and women, and encourage gender and equality values.
The role of women in the logistics and transportation sector
Despite the rising figures, there’s still a massive gap between the number of women and men working in the sector. Women made up 46.8% of the US labor force in 2015. Out of nearly 8 million workers in the US Transportation & Utilities sector, women constitute 22.6%.
Several scientific studies have shown that gender diversity in the workforce not only fosters collaboration, understanding, and tolerance, but also boosts competitiveness, productivity, and corporate social responsibility.
The logistics industry has been employing women since in 1966, though a small percentage of the total workforce in this field until fairly recently. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot more women in warehouses and overseeing operations.