50% of the workforce in procurement is now female; there’s been a tremendous sea of change in the last 10 years, but the board level and leadership teams don’t yet represent this at the higher levels.
In episode 19 of Talent Talks Martin Smith welcomes an excellent panel who discuss how to attract, nurture and develop female talent within the procurement and supply-chain industry;
- Rebecca Lonsdale, Director of Procurement at Britvic Soft Drinks
- Victoria Sargeant, Head of Category and Supplier Management at BAE Systems
- Sarah Jane-Ellis – Former Director of Procurement at Heathrow and Head of Sourcing at the BBC, now founder of Procurement Presence
This episode of Talent Talks covers:
- Ways to encourage more diversity and inclusion
- Work life when returning from maternity leave
- Nurturing and encouraging your team below
- Adapting for disabilities and mental health
- Measuring diversity in organisations
Links & references
- Martin Smith, Founder & Director of Talent Drive: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsmith2009/
- Director of Procurement at Britvic Soft Drinks, Rebecca Lonsdale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-lonsdale-nee-hill-1aa8b91/
- Head of Category and Supplier Management at BAE Systems, Victoria Sargeant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-sargeant-00227220
- Former Director of Procurement at Heathrow Airport and Head of Sourcing at BBC, Sarah-Jane Ellis, who now runs Procurement Presence: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-jane-ellis-procurementcommercialdirector/
“It’s about accepting and knowing a team is better if it’s more balanced. If it’s diverse, everybody brings something new by virtue of being unique” – Rebecca Lonsdale
“I think diversity has improved within procurement. Mars was very Diverse, BBC was very diverse and to go to an organisation and be the only female in that senior group was quite an oddity. It wasn’t done by any intention, there was no reason for it, it just evolved over a period of time. But we weren’t actually encouraging those types of applicants, so we had to create the right environment to encourage others to join our profession.” – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“I’ve been the only member of the Senior Leadership Team within Supply Chain for years, and it’s something I find fascinating because the opportunities are absolutely there, it’s just we’re not getting that through to women in that space.” – Rebecca Lonsdale
“We tend to recruit in our own image and we are drawn to people who are like us, and it’s very hard to break that cycle and that then gets reflected in our boardrooms and in our leadership environment.” – Rebecca Lonsdale
“If we’ve got a limited talent pool to draw from, it actually makes it incredibly difficult, and the wider we can make that, the better.” – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“Those wider people are not coming into our profession, working through the roles and growing up to board level because we haven’t actually done enough to be able to attract, develop and retain them”. – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“Men are the ones that actually want to get involved too, and I don’t think that is understood properly either. I think it’s easier for me to put my hand up and say “I’ve got to leave for the school drop off” than it would be for my Husband.” – Rebecca Lonsdale
“I think there’s also a gap in understanding how we can support people at both ends of the spectrum as it were those with new life and those who’ve got commitments at the older end of the spectrum, and how they can be helped in their working life. So they’re not made to feel uncomfortable, and we can respect those differences.” – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“I have a responsibility in a senior position to nurture the women below me and in my team up so that they can then take my role and I can progress up.” -Victoria Sargeant
“Whilst I see lots of moves going on in terms of sort of the gender equality and and other areas, which rightly so, still, the question of disability gets pushed backwards and I think a lot of organisations have come a long way in trying to start have creative environments whereby they can actually encourage people who’ve got any form of disability.” – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“What I found really sort of illuminating at the BBC was that they had an accessibility team, who were incredibly productive. They were very supportive of people across the board they were bringing in and helping managers support people with so many different enhanced needs.” – Sarah-Jane Ellis
“Get that breadth of experience. By having that you can then go into procurement, but you can also move out of procurement.” – Sarah Jane-Ellis
“Don’t settle, be you, be true to yourself. I want a job because I’m the right person, not because I’m the female or because I’m slightly younger or whatever it is. I want the job because I’m the right person for it so never settle, just be really true to yourself.” – Rebecca Lonsdale
“To the hiring managers out there, if you’re male, have a female on the panel with you, because you will get that different opinion from a female. And I also think if you’re interviewing a female, make them feel more comfortable. And then to the employee. I’ve always pushed my team to do stretch targets. So put your hand up, volunteer for things, try something different. And again, it’s that don’t settle, don’t become comfortable in what you’re doing. Always look for something more. And if you’ve got a good manager, a good leader, they will recognise that and then you will go far.” – Victoria Sargeant
