Practical Advantages to Having More Women in Supply Chain

The Webinar (see video above)
At that time, my friends and I felt that we needed to deny our femininity to be accepted in the workforce. It was a hard battle fought with grit, determination and chagrin. The stories were poignant. It was before the days of sexual harassment policies, but not before sexual harassment. Being female in an all male world was difficult. It would was not the world that fathers would wish for their daughters. Several of my friends ended up in therapy with an identity crisis.

Not me. I was just so busy fighting the fight that I forgot to enjoy the journey. Tough as nails and focused, I plunged ahead. There were many years that I just could not let myself feel anything. But yesterday, as I put my manuscript to the back of my desk at the Omni hotel in San Diego and took a break to facilitate this webcast with a panel of four wonderful women, I took time to enjoy the journey. I heard advice that I wish someone had shared with me on my journey:

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  Be Thankful for Feedback. Shellie Molina, now VP of Global Supply Chain at First Solar, told the story of learning how to receive feedback. She told the audience to ask for feedback often and thank the receiver. As a crusty gal that was fighting the hard fight to be accepted in a man’s world, this would have helped me immensely. I needed so much feedback and fought the people who tried to give it. I give thanks to people who persevered. I am a better person for it, but I fought it all the way. Her advice, “It takes guts for colleagues to give you feedback. When it happen, thank them and ask for clarity. Use it as a time to build the relationship.” Great advice. Don’t make the mistake that I made.
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  Outperform and Then Ask for More. When asked how to get a sponsor, Laura Dionne, Director of Worldwide Operations at TriQuint, replied, “Outperform and then ask for more.” She shared that this had helped her to get sponsorship from her managers. Laura also shared that she was promoted three times while taking pregnancy leave to give birth to her children. It made me reflect on how important sponsorship is and how it can shape others’ lives. It made me think. As a result, I sent three Thank You notes over the weekend to my prior sponsors.
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  Don’t Be Afraid to Be Female. Elisabeth Kaszas, Director of Supply Chain for Amgen, shared that women should not be afraid to be female in the workplace. This was advice that I sorely needed as an entry-level employee. I loved Elisabeth’s perspective that women have a level of modesty and pride that helps the workforce, and that other women should encourage their women peers to speak at conferences, participate in programs, and stretch their aspirations.
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  Pull Up the Chair at the Table. In the practice session, the panel often talked of encouraging other women to pull up a chair to the table and participate. Verda Blythe from University of Wisconsin spoke of the building of soft skills in the academic setting to help both women and men embrace diversity.

All of the panelists shared that the world today is a very different place for women in supply chain. It is their belief that the opportunity is with filling senior roles; and in this regards, they were not sure that the supply chain roles are that different from other senior roles. The facts as the panel sees them: there just are not enough senior women sitting at the boardroom table. I agree.