Dive Brief:
- Women were paid on average $29,720 less than men in procurement last year, according to the Institute for Supply Management's 2017 Salary Survey.
- Since 2015, procurement salaries for men have increased by 8.2%, while women’s salaries increased a mere 3%. Also in 2015, women earned 24% less than men, while 2017's numbers show a 31% difference.
- However, women were on average paid $52,822 more as Chief Procurement/Supply Management/Sourcing officers, although that was the only such case. The next lowest pay gap for Women was at the director position, with $11,526 less pay.
Dive Insight:
A 2016 survey of Women in the Supply Chain revealed that few companies deliberately endeavor to hire women, let alone promote them once on board. But with a talent crisis pervading the supply chain, professionals can ill afford to continue passively pursuing 47% of the workforce.
The talent crisis is a long-term problem, requiring structural solutions. One such solution involves active recruitment of women to the labor force, at all levels, in order to eventually help such workers rise the ranks of the organization. A second is empowering women leaders to speak at or otherwise encourage young professionals or students to enter the field. A recent report found most women in the field found manufacturing and related tasks interesting and exciting, a statistic that should not be taken for granted.
Yet, recruitment is a two-way street and pay gaps could be another reason talent chooses passes on a job. That the pay gap does not exist at the top should not be celebrated, as it may in fact be an indicator of the scarce supply of women who make it to that level. The first step to correcting any issue is recognizing it exists, and ISM's survey of over 3,000 respondents shows the issue is widespread.
