UPS Canada hosts influential
panel: The Future of Women in Logistics
MISSISSAUGA, ON,
March 7, 2014 /CNW/ - For more than a
century, International Women's Day (IWD) has recognized the
enormous economic, social and political contributions of women
around the world. This year's theme 'Inspiring Change' was
the focus of UPS Canada's 'The Future of Women in Logistics' panel
discussion which took place this morning. The event was an
opportunity to gather women and men alike to discuss the changing
industry of logistics and how women in particular can build their
career in this field. Valuable insights from thought leaders from
across the industry were shared with local businesses, government
officials, UPS senior staff as well as the UPS Women's Leadership
and Development (WLD) committee.
The panellists included:
- Honourable Dr. K. Kellie Leitch,
Minister of Labour and Minister of the Status of Women
- Romaine Seguin, president, UPS
Americas
- Joy Nott, president, Canadian
Association of Importers and Exporters
- Debra Dinger, trade and
compliance manager supply chain, Ericsson
- Julia Kuzeljevich, associate
editor, Canadian Shipper (moderator)
"Our Government is committed to promoting the recruitment and
advancement of women in all sectors and at all levels of the
economy," said the Honourable Dr. K. Kellie
Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Status of
Women. "I encourage all organizations to support women
through ongoing mentorship, leadership and skills training. This is
good for women, good for business and good for Canada."
UPS leaders within different functions of the business attended
the event to share their personal stories - challenges and
successes - working in the logistics industry.
Be it freight, operations, procurement or logistics, a 2012
study by the Van Horne Institute titled Women in Supply
Chain found that women are presently underrepresented within
the industry. The study concluded that attracting and retaining
more women was the overarching solution to addressing the growing
Canadian labour shortage.
The Van Horne Institute most recently reported 26,852 vacant
supply chain positions across Canada, growing to about 356,747 vacancies by
2017.
The UPS WLD program was launched in 2007. It was designed to
provide an integrated series of tools and practices to bring
talented women from the hiring phase, through skills development
and into higher levels of responsibility within the
organization.
In its seventh year, the WLD Program is focused on fostering
change and expanding strength in talent through diversity by:
- Improving retention of women at supervisor and manager
levels
- Developing women on the management team to enrich the pipeline
of talent for higher level positions
- Positioning UPS for future business growth opportunities with
women entrepreneurs
"International Women's Day represents the global effort to
ensure there are opportunities for all and to inspire change," said
Michael Tierney, President, UPS
Canada. "It's incredibly important to celebrate and support women's
advancements not only once every 365 days, but year-round. In
2013, the UPS WLD committee in Canada hosted nearly 100 events with 1,000
participants - a success worth celebrating. As an
organization, we are committed to creating an environment where our
employees can improve their skill sets and share their strengths
through continued training, mentorship programs and thought
leadership."
Designed around leveraging networks and business connections,
UPS runs its WLD program across its International operations. The
training, development and networking aims to support a positive
step forward for women working in logistics around the globe.
More information on UPS's Women's Leadership Development program
is available online.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad
range of solutions including the transportation of packages and
freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the
deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the
world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 220
countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on
the web at ups.com® and its corporate blog can be found at
blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit
pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
SOURCE UPS Canada Ltd.
Image with caption: "To celebrate International Women's Day, the
UPS Women's Leadership Development committee hosted a panel event
in Toronto discussing, 'The Future
of Women in Logistics.' Women leaders from across North America gathered to discuss the
logistics industry and the strides women have made to climb the
corporate ladder. (CNW Group/UPS Canada Ltd.)". Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140307_C9948_PHOTO_EN_37698.jpg