It’s no secret that the logistics and supply chain industry is, for the most part, run by men.  However, in recent years we’ve seen a huge shift.  More women are joining the industry, and companies shouldn’t be afraid of hiring diverse talent.  According to Dana Stiffler in The Wall Street Journal, “If you’re kind of desperate to hire talent, if you could do a better job at attracting women (we’re half of the population), then that would give you a competitive advantage.” Ms. Stiffler continued, “If you could attract from a more multi-ethnic pool…then that would be great too.” 

We spoke with experts in our company, and this is what they had to say: 

Carolina Muñoz, Sales Team Leader at Hubtek said that it’s not a secret to anyone that the logistics and transportation industry is male-dominated.  Throughout the last couple of decades, however, there’s been movement towards change, and especially in the last few years, where we’ve experienced a labor shortage across the entire industry.  

She argues that by expanding their talent base to include more women, minorities, and the LGBTQ-plus community, many companies have succeeded in this hard task of finding long-lasting, qualified talent.  “One of Hubtek’s profit lines is providing remote talent to logistics companies in the US.  Very recently we did a study to learn where we’re at on gender equality across the organization, and we received very impressive results. 47% of our team members are women, and women fill 53% of our leadership roles. These numbers are a little bit higher than the industry average, which right now is at 39%, but we’re making a big difference, as are a lot of companies that are benefiting from expanding to a more diverse talent base.”  She believes this is game-changing, especially through this labor shortage and recession that is ahead of us. 

Heather Heitkamp, Hubtek’s Training and Development Manager, stated that in recent years, there has been a growing recognition that diversity in the workforce can bring many benefits to companies in the logistics and trucking industry. For example, having a diverse team can lead to improved decision-making, as different perspectives and experiences can be brought to the table.  This can help to identify creative solutions to challenges and optimize operations.  In addition, having a diverse workforce can help logistics and trucking companies to better understand and serve their customers.  By having a team that reflects the diversity of the communities they serve, companies can more effectively meet the needs of a wide range of customers.  This can be especially important in the trucking industry, where strong relationships with customers are essential for success. 

She believes that, in terms of the labor shortage, having a diverse workforce can help to attract and retain a larger pool of workers.  By providing opportunities for women and minorities, logistics and trucking companies can tap into new resources of talent and potentially mitigate the impact of the labor shortage.  This can be especially important as the industry faces challenges such as an aging workforce and increased competition for skilled workers. 

She concluded by stating that promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace can also have a positive impact on morale and productivity amongst employees. “When people feel valued and included, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated in their work.  This can lead to improved performance and ultimately, better outcomes for the company.  Overall, increasing diversity in logistics and trucking industries can bring many benefits, both for the companies themselves and for the communities that they serve.  By providing opportunities for women and minorities, these industries can tap into new sources of talent, improve decision-making, and foster a more inclusive culture.” 

Finally, we heard from Andrew Gulovsen, CMO at Hubtek.  He shared that, in some organizations, the hiring process is about finding the right fit for the team.  However, this often means finding someone just like those who are already there.  “While the team can gel with this homogeneous approach, often the team doesn’t grow or develop, and the organization can suffer long-term. Diversity, whether gender, background, race or location, brings greater breadth of knowledge and experiences.  Standard norms can be challenged to move past monotony and offer new and exciting insights.” He concluded by saying that he believes there needs to be a voice, or multiple voices, that can offer respectful dissent to ideas to help shape them into stronger and more powerful visions of the future. 

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