Publicly Held Supply Chain Organizations Lead the Way with Representation of People of Color

According to the survey, more than 75% of supply chain organizations consider gender and ethnicity/race in their DEI strategies and objectives.

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Representation of people of color in supply chain organizations is much higher at every level when the company is publicly held, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. and the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).

In fact, people of color make up 35% of the overall supply chain workforce in publicly held companies and 13% of vice presidents. For supply chain organizations in privately held companies, people of color make up 30% of the overall workforce, and 7% of vice presidents.

“We see a similar dynamic when we compare global companies – with a revenue of over $5 billion – to their smaller peers,” says Dana Stiffler, VP analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice. “Looking at manager level and above, the big players have much stronger pipelines when it comes to representation of people of color.”

“While all supply chain professionals earned higher pay across the board in 2021, it’s encouraging to see that the gap for people of color has narrowed – at least for public enterprises,” says ASCM CEO Abe Eshkenazi. “What we need to do is completely close the gap – so that all organizations, public and private, are places where racial and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ, physical ability and others have equal opportunities.” 

 From Gartner Inc.:

  • According to the survey, more than 75% of supply chain organizations consider gender and ethnicity/race in their DEI strategies and objectives. This is a significantly higher rate than in 2020, when 59% of respondents considered gender, and 62% considered ethnicity/race. However, while three-quarters of supply chain organizations report that they focus on some dimension of diversity, only 40% are working on specific DEI projects or initiatives.
  • Recruitment, learning and development (L&D) and employee engagement are the types of DEI initiatives most often seen in supply chain organizations. More than 75% of respondents have those initiatives in place.
  • Fewer than half of supply chain organizations are implementing initiatives focused on specific benefits – such as elder care benefits or financial wellness programs – pay equity or advancement and progression of minority groups. This may pose challenges in retention of underrepresented groups if they do not feel that they receive an equitable work experience or opportunities for role progression. However, 32% of supply chain organizations state recruitment is the most effective initiative, followed closely by L&D (28%) and employee engagement (24%).
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