Why we need more women in logistics and tech: International Women’s Day

In a video message released for International Women's Day, Shailu Satish — co-founder and COO of leading logistics platform DispatchTrack — challenged logistics and tech professionals to increase support for women in their industries.

"I am grateful for all of the progress that has been made," said Satish, a two-time winner of the Women in Logistics Award, "but there is more to be done."

Tech and logistics have traditionally been majority male professions, and they still are. As the chart below shows, women are 59% of the population and 47% of the workforce. Still, just 18% of software programmers are women and only a third — 36% — of logisticians are.

DispatchTrack has substantial operations in Latin America and India as well as the US. In Latin America, the percentages are almost the same. In India, about 30% of IT workers overall are now women but that appears set to increase: 39% of computer science degrees awarded in 2022 went to women according to the India Ministry of Education.

The company's office in Hyderabad includes a large number of female engineers, and its overall Director of India Operations, Sunanda Gundavajhala, was recently recognized as one of the country's top 20 DivHERsity Champions by professional platform HerKey for her efforts in recruiting and mentoring other women.

Companies not taking advantage of this mismatch between available workforce and skilled team members are missing out, said Satish.

"I was talking to some young female engineers on my [india] team, and I expected to encourage them, but they inspired me," she said, pointing out that many of them came from families with limited means to provide education, and had to overcome social norms that put women's education second. "They worked incredibly hard, they excelled academically, and won scholarships. I am so proud of them."

That work ethic and determination carries over to the workplace, she said, and they are already paying their progress forward: "Now they are role models in their communities, inspiring other girls and actively encouraging families to support their daughters' ambitions."

To build better workplaces, Satish believes everyone — men and women — should make it a habit to find ways to uplift and empower their colleagues. "Whether it's encouraging someone to speak up or mentoring the next generation, these actions, big and small, have ripple effects." And those ripples can build into the tidal wave sized change required to reach real equity.

This week, DispatchTrack will hold a series of events — workshops, discussion groups and a meeting for all team members globally — to advance its success in building highly effective teams that blend cultures, ethnicities and genders.