Lloyds List Australia - Gender equality is still an issue in logistics

Source: https://www.lloydslistaustralia.com.au/lla/market-sectors/logistics-and-supply-chain/Gender-equality-is-still-an-issue-in-logistics-558336.html

Photo: WGEA director Libby Lyons; photo Ian Ackerman                                                 

Ian Ackerman - Sydney                                                

INDUSTRY figures gathered in Sydney recently at the Women in Logistics Forum to discuss gender equality in logistics, where the issue stands now, and how it can be improved.

Speaking at the event, Workplace Gender Equality Agency director, Libby Lyons, said a major concern across Australia was segregation, with women concentrated in lower levels of the workforce and in lower-paid industries such as education and healthcare.

She said 26% of the full-time staff were female in the "transport support industry" (which includes freight forwarders, customs brokers, port workers and similar services) and the gender pay gap was 20%.

"The gender pay gap is up on the national average by about 3%, and 20% equates to about $19,000 per year," she said.

"Not many women make it to the managerial level, only 21% of your key management personnel are women, and only 4.5% of CEOs are women."

This is compared with the national numbers that show 16.3% of CEOs in Australia are women.

Ms Lyons said women were concentrated in the clerical end of the transport support industry, with 64% of administration staff being female.

"Positive news is that six out of 10 employers have an overall gender equality strategy in place, which is slightly higher than the national average," she said.

She continued, saying even in male dominated industries, change could happen quickly.

"Like in your industry, mining has very low representation of women," she said.

"For senior management, you have a pay gap of about 18.7%, and in mining, it's 8%," she said.

"But their overall pay gap stands at 15%, so there's still a way to go, but they're taking action, and if you take action you can see results."

The Women in Logistics Forum was organised by the Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA), the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) and the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA).