IN Brief:
- CILT(UK) held its inaugural Women in Supply Chain & Transport event on 5 March at CEVA’s East Midlands Gateway site.
- Sessions covered inclusive recruitment, leadership development, confidence barriers, and organisational change in logistics and transport.
- The institute signalled follow-on activity through future events, communities, and professional development routes.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK) has delivered its first Women in Supply Chain & Transport event, convening senior leaders and early-career professionals for a one-day programme at CEVA Logistics’ East Midlands Gateway operation.
Run under the theme Pathways & Progress and aligned with International Women’s Day week, the agenda was framed around career development, inclusive leadership, and employer practice in a sector that still skews male in many operational roles, even as more women move into management, planning, procurement, and customer-facing functions.
CILT(UK) chief executive Helen Hardy opened the event by positioning it as part of the institute’s broader push for inclusive career pathways across logistics, transport, and supply chain. “The strength of attendance and the calibre of discussion demonstrate that our profession is ready to lead with intent,” she said. “By sharing lived experience, championing inclusive leadership and committing to practical change, we are building a stronger, more resilient future for supply chain and transport.”
The programme blended keynote talks, spotlight sessions, and panel discussions, with contributions intended to move from personal experience into operational reality: recruitment design, progression routes, and the day-to-day mechanics of leadership in time-critical, service-sensitive networks. Topics included inclusive recruitment practices, approaches to imposter syndrome and confidence gaps, and leadership techniques aimed at maintaining performance through volatility — from peak-driven warehousing and transport constraints to customer expectation shifts and disruption management.
The event also underlined the widening focus on measurable outcomes, rather than broad commitments. In transport more widely, recent benchmarking has pointed to incremental gains in overall representation, with slower movement in frontline and core operational roles and limited improvement in pay equity across many organisations. In road freight in particular, industry bodies have continued to highlight the low share of women in HGV driving, alongside the workforce age profile and the knock-on effect for capacity resilience.
CILT(UK) said the programme contributed 3.5 experiential CPD hours, linking the event to formal development pathways and professional recognition. Networking sessions were positioned as a practical mechanism for cross-company connection — not simply for mentorship, but for sharing approaches that can be applied inside operations, from team structures and rota design through to promotion processes and progression frameworks.
Closing the event, Erin Meehan, head of partnerships at CILT(UK), said the tone of the day reflected a willingness to tackle specifics. “What stood out today was the honesty, generosity and determination of this community,” she said. “This wasn’t simply a conversation about representation — it was about progression, visibility and creating environments where talent can truly thrive. The momentum we’ve seen here must continue beyond today.”
CILT(UK) has indicated the event will feed into ongoing activity through its communities and development offer, as employers continue to balance skills shortages, compliance pressures, and service performance with the workforce structures needed to keep goods moving.
