CEP industry still lacks female leaders

Women are gradually getting more top jobs in the international postal, parcels and express industry but they still remain dramatically under-represented in leadership roles, a CEP-Research overview on International Women’s Day showed.

Launched over a century ago, International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. Female leadership is one of the main themes this year under the slogan #ChooseToChallenge.

Only 10-15% female senior leaders?

The worldwide postal, parcels and express industry is a major employer of women in a wide range of activities. For example, about 50% of postal workers in Europe are women, according to PostEurop. 

Yet relatively few women have risen to the very top and gained leadership positions, while women still make up a low overall proportion of executives and senior managers across the industry.

In the logistics industry, only 13% of senior leaders are women, according to recent figures from French group GEODIS. Although specific figures were not readily available from international associations, the figure is unlikely to be much better in the postal, parcels and express sector.

Female CEOs in North America and Europe

The most prominent female leader in the international CEP industry at present is probably Carol Tomé, who became CEO of UPS last summer. In Europe, women are running several postal operators, including Annemarie Gardshol (PostNord), Tone Wille (Posten Norge), Herna Verhagen (PostNL), Asta Sungailiene (Lithuanian Post) and Mira Petrovic (Serbian Post).

In the broader logistics field, Marie-Christine Lombard (Geodis, ex-TNT Express) is probably the most prominent female CEO. She aims for the French group to reach 25% women in leadership roles by 2023, up from 13% in 2017 and 18% at present.

In addition, there are also numerous women in executive board or senior management positions across the industry. These include Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Melanie Kreis (CFO) and Katja Busch (CCO DHL), FedEx’s Brie Carere (EVP Marketing), Ramona Hood (CEO Custom Critical), Karen Reddington (President Europe) and Kawal Preet (President Asia Pacific), along with UPS’ Kate Gutmann (SVP Sales) and Laura Lane (Communications, Sustainability Officer).

Moreover, there have been several other prominent female bosses in the industry over the past decade such as Megan Brennan (USPS), Moya Greene (Canada Post, Royal Mail), Christine Holgate (Australia Post) and Susanne Ruoff (Swiss Post).

Well-known challenges

The challenges of the postal, parcels, express and logistics industries in winning, keeping and promoting women are well-known.

“The logistics industry urgently needs a greater degree of gender diversity and inclusion to recognize, reward and profit from the talents of its female workforce and to improve its record of attracting women of superior ability.  The industry’s image is one of traditional male leadership, lack of upward mobility for women and unattractive to aspiring young females,” admitted Mario Ceccon, GEODIS’ Group HR director.

But according to the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the international postal sector is improving in terms of equal rights and opportunities.

Director General Bishar Hussein said: “Women are increasingly contributing their experiences and skills to the sector. Whether as the head of a postal operator, working in the sorting offices or delivering mail, women are bringing their immense enthusiasm and dedication to postal operations.

“At the Universal Postal Union (the UPU) our aim is to continue the vital work of promoting an inclusive environment that recognizes and celebrates every woman’s achievements. On International Women’s Day, I encourage everyone in the international postal sector to join me in these essential efforts.”

Clear policies at postal operators

In a UPU online post to mark International Women’s Day, Andreja Bekavac, head of strategy and business development at Hrvatska Pošta (Croatian Post), commented: “Croatian Post hires an equal number of male and female workers, from operational to senior management roles. We are paid according to role, not gender. As a woman, I have never felt discriminated against, either negatively or positively.”

Kati Packalén, head of customer experience at PostNord Finland, shared the same experience. “Logistics has been traditionally seen as very male-dominant industry and it was exactly that 10 years ago when I first started in the sector. There were very few women, especially in leading managerial positions. Since then, this has changed dramatically. I personally have never felt any kind of pressure or difficulty working within this industry,” she stressed.

PostNord also has clear goals. “There is a target of 40% female employees within the company, and with top leadership positions the target is to have 35% females,” Packalén added.

At Russian Post, approximately 80% of employees are women, according to Julia Leschevskaya, first deputy chairman of the management board, deputy general director, and executive director. “At Russian Post, we have established mandatory requirements for the representation of women in governing bodies,” she explained. “In addition, we are considering the possibility of introducing the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the company, which include ensuring gender equality.”