Logistics and freight sector is lacking women in the business to explore opportunities that are created in the industry.
This is because the sector had been regarded as the business that is dominated by men with minimal number of women playing their role.
Phadi a torchbearer in the sector
Mary Phadi, who is also a politician leading ActionSA in Mpumalanga, is also a driving force behind the success of her own business, Basadi Logistics, which is a thriving transport and trucking company based in Emalahleni.
Through her business acumen, her resilience is regarded as one of the most inspiring stories in the logistics business to motivate other women to take a leap of faith towards building their own successes in the sector.
Odette van Zyl is the financial director and co-owner of the Cape Town based logistics and freight company, JLOG International.
Lack of knowledge keeps women sidelined
As the country is still celebrating women’s month and the role played by female strength in shaping this country, Odette van Zyl, financial director and co-owner of Cape Town-based JLOG International also pointed out that South Africa’s freight and logistics sector is not short of ambitious women. However, she stated that the issue was that the sector is short of women who know the sector exists as a career.
Van Zyl said that while women account for roughly 28% of South Africa’s logistics workforce, they hold fewer than a quarter of its senior leadership roles, stating that the problem starts long before the interview.
“Women are not necessarily interested in logistics as a career because they don’t know what it is. There is very little exposure to what logistics involves or where women can contribute. For most people, logistics still means trucks, couriers and the physical movement of cargo. The customs and compliance work, the financial structuring behind a project cargo shipment, the operational problem-solving that keeps a vessel loading on schedule. There is none of it is visible from the outside. An industry that shows the public only its most traditionally male face, should therefore not be surprised by who applies,” said Van Zyl.
‘Women need industry exposure’
She said that it was vital to have women getting exposed to the business, as such exposure will unlock potential and changes career paths.
For Van Zyl to find herself as a role player in the industry, she entered by chance, where she was a personal assistant at a small logistics company. Despite her ambitions and drive, her role expanded into the accounts, and this gave her a view of the financial side of the business and, eventually, a career in freight finance.
She believed that she would explore opportunities from an administrative desk to the point of working her way up as she climbed the ladder of success, and today she is a co-owner of a freight company.
Van Zyl said that for her to make is possible, it was based on scope of pushing the boundaries to get to the top, and this has inspired her to want to see other young women climbing to the top through passion and dedication.
“If women are exposed to the industry, even through learnerships, they begin to see what the rest of the business involves. Someone may enter through finance and then realise that she can work in operations or move into a completely different role,” she said.
Hands-on approach encouraged
Her own work runs well beyond the finance desk, as she has put on safety boots, a hard hat and a reflective vest, climbed into a bakkie and collected cargo from the airport for delivery to a vessel at JLOG International.
“In another item on the day’s to-do list. We should not stand back, doubt our knowledge or be intimidated by work simply because it looks complicated,” she said.
She said that at her company, to show the passion that women have in logistics, case in point was that females make up more than half of JLOG’s employees, an outcome the company did not set out to engineer.
“We did not go out saying we wanted to employ a man or a woman but rather looked for the best person. The point is to give people the same playing field and the opportunity to show what they can do. Women do not want handouts. They want to earn their positions,” she explained.
Helping hand for women at bottom of the ladder
Through her spirit of seeing women get much involved in the business, Van Zyl, who is a strong advocate for learnerships as the sector’s first point of contact with new talent and equally clear about how they fail, stated that it was vital to lend a helping hand to the ambitious women who want to grow.
“Treated as a number to be recorded, the opportunity is lost. When you give someone the chance to build a career, you are helping that person create a life and support a family. It should be about the person, not simply the number of learners a company has taken on.
“Getting women through the door is the easy part. Progress has been real in smaller freight businesses, but the corporate environment has not matched the pace. We have seen change over the last few years, but it is still too slow,” she said.
Her advice to women considering the sector is direct
“Do not be intimidated by how complicated logistics may appear. Also, do not lessen your voice or hide your ability behind fear. Own your space and take the risk. It is a journey well worth the ride,” she said.
- Logistics and freight sector is lacking women in the business to explore opportunities that are created in the industry.
- This is because the sector had been regarded as the business that is dominated by men with minimal number of women playing their role.
- Phadi a torchbearer in the sector Mary Phadi, who is also a politician leading ActionSA in Mpumalanga, is also a driving force behind the success of her own business, Basadi Logistics, which is a thriving transport and trucking company based in Emalahleni.
- Through her business acumen, her resilience is regarded as one of the most inspiring stories in the logistics business to motivate other women to take a leap of faith towards building their own successes in the sector.
- Odette van Zyl is the financial director and co-owner of the Cape Town based logistics and freight company, JLOG International.
