This International Women’s Day, a shipping and road transport firm is calling for more women to enter the UK’s logistics workforce in a bid to close the gender employment gap across the industry.
With women making up only 20% of the transport sector and only 3% of HGV drivers in the UK, Streamline Shipping Group is encouraging more women to enter the industry.
Gillian MacDonald, the general manager at Streamline Shipping Group’s Shetland depot, said: “It seems strange that in 2023 the logistics industry is still a heavily male-dominated sector with only 10% of managerial roles taken on by women.
“To this day, I still experience confusion from customers who expect to be assisted by a male manager. I believe this sort of misunderstanding is down to a failure to promote the logistics sector as an inclusive career choice for women.”
As an inclusive business, Streamline Shipping Group is eager to see more women join the UK’s logistics workforce, taking on a variety of roles across a range of departments. Currently, 33% of the company’s managerial staff is female, with representation across various departments, including the board of directors.
Furthermore, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) has a dedicated forum called Women in Logistics (WiL) which aims to “improve the lives of women in logistics in the UK and address gender imbalance, enabling the logistics industry to benefit from female talent.”
Starting in 2008, Women in Logistics has grown to a membership of nearly 4,000. In 2014, the organisation started a process of restructuring in order to cope with the size and to enable us to continue to grow and serve our members. In 2018, Women in Logistics became incorporated into CILT UK, creating a wider platform to extend our reach and continue to engage, connect and inspire the profession.
The forum also works to provide opportunities for the logistics industry, and other key stakeholders, to support women working in the sector and identify and address the challenges to recruitment and retention.
