Pioneering ladies
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Grocontinental started life as a traditional family irm, but the early death of Grocott’s grandfather left her grandmother Nellie Grocott a widow at 39 with seven young children to look after. She had no choice but to take the reins of the then cattle haulage business. “She was a pioneering lady of her generation – not only driving the lorry, but also developing the business,” says Grocott.
Within logistics, DHL Supply Chain was the sole industry representative in this year’s Top 50 Employers for Women list published by The Times. Its initiatives include management development programmes, mentoring schemes and a professional women’s network called Red Chair. It also has a dedicated Women Returning to Work programme to support female employees coming back from maternity leave.
Sue Cowley, vice-president of talent and diversity at DHL, says it’s all designed to give people conidence so that they achieve their potential. “It makes sense that our workforce is relective of the gender and ethnic diversity of the marketplace we serve.” Cowley says the company has learnt it’s often the simple things that are most effective – having a returning mum’s lap-top set up and ready to go for example – and needn’t be expensive. “The key is lexibility and the reward is improved staff retention,” says Cowley. “It’s an area we could still do more in as an industry.” Corbyn believes a lack of clear career progression has been the sector’s Achilles’ heel. “When women join the industry, if they don’t see a clear way of progressing, we tend to lose them not just from that job, but the sector as a whole.” To address this, SfL has developed the Professional Development Stairway – a framework that shows what’s on offer, the skills required and the steps needed to get there.