Supply chain salary surveys reveal gender wage gap

gender wage gap

The results of an inaugural survey published by Apics, an American association for supply chain management, in May 2018 reveal a substantial wage gap between men and women within the field. The 2018 Supply Chain Compensation and Career Survey Report comprises research data from more than 2,600 supply chain professionals in the USA. Despite a generally healthy outlook for those employed in supply chain, with an average salary increase of at least 3 percent in 2017 and high job satisfaction reported across the profession, many female supply chain professionals still clearly face a significant ‘glass ceiling’ when it comes to equal pay. According to the survey’s findings, their male counterparts earn over 15 percent more than the women do for similar positions. Furthermore, wage disparity increases as professionals progress through the leadership ranks.

These findings are echoed in a recent survey of 3,000 purchasing and supply-chain professionals by the Institute for Supply Management, which in fact found that men earned 29 percent more than women in 2017. The gap was even wider at senior level, with men who had fifteen to nineteen years of experience in the industry taking home 48 percent more than their female peers, according to media reports.

This disparity in wages has declined slightly since 2016, but women are still paid significantly less than men across various supply chain roles at all levels. Furthermore, at a time when more women are entering the sector, Abe Eshkenazi, chief executive of Apics, is recorded as saying that while women perform at the same levels as men with the same job titles and expectations, they may not be given the same opportunities to advance their careers.

Gender gap not restricted to supply chain industry

The gender gap is not restricted to the supply chain industry, however; the Census Bureau reported that, in 2017, women in the US across all occupations made 81.8 percent of what men were paid.

Using the data collected from the 2018 salary report, Apics also created an interactive salary calculator which can be filtered to see how changes in job title, tenure, education, certification and more can affect salary and compensation. The data in the report and calculator will be updated annually.

To view the full results of the report, visit http://www.apics.org/salaryreport.