Enhancing the Power of Womenin Logistics and Transport

Lalith Edirisingheledd- Deportment of Logistics ond fransport:oculty of Humonities and Sociol Sciences:INEC Motitime Campus

he Global Competit iveness Report 2014-2015 of World Economic Forum (WEF) reveals that theliscrimination according to Sender is , inter alia, a typical example of social exclusion that have a:onsiderable negative impact on the competit iveness of a nation. The report also suggests that:he international community has made significant progress in defining inclusive groMh However,agreeing on a comprehensive and more actionable framework remains an ongoing challenge.tccording to WEF, promoting gender parity is one of key areas ofthis init ial framework which wil lce used as a point of departure for a series of policy dialogues among policymakers, businesseaders, and other opinion shapers.

Some time back the transport and logistics industry (particularly the shipping) in Sri Lanka wereperceived as an industry that generate exclusive employment opportunities for males rather thaniemales. of course one cannot totally deny the fact that certain social and culturai factors in thecountry do not act in favour of women to engage in certain operational activit ies related toiransport and logistics industry. However, this phobia has gradually eased as the transport andlogistics industry proved to be more academic or professional centric than purely skil led ortechnical cantered in the past. The technology has played a major role in this evolotion whileglobalization facil i tated a swift changing over from the traditional industry norms particularly inthe Asian countries. The rapid development in the ICT {lnformation Communication Technology)made it possible to see through what is happening in the transport and logistics industry overseas.The awareness of the fact that there are many opportunities available for women and that thegender is no more a barrier to females in other countries created the confidence among thewomen in Sri Lanka. There are plenty of success stories Slobally that the women have been verysuccessful in the Transport and Logistics industry. However, it would be important to look at somestatistics to realize the actual situation with regard to labour force trends and unemployment rateof female in which it is plainly visible that there is enough room for improvements.

Table 01: Unemployment Percentage oJ Labour Force in Sri Lanka

2412 2013 2074

M a l e 2.9 3 . 2

6 . 2 6.6 6.5

Sou,'ce: Department of Census and Statistics {As cited in central Bank Annual Report 2014)The author !s also crit ical about the increasing numbers that fail to attend to governmentuniversit ies everv vear.

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Table 03: The trend of Government University Enrolment in Sri Lanka (1989 -2011 selected years)

1989/9O 15021

3766 2697 6463

25 19

7999/aO 45935 73422

5724 6035 11405

27 13 76

2OAU02 El ig ibe 33122 57954 97676

5616 6524 72144

la 12

2OA4/O5 Eligible 67945 t1t725

685r ?669 74520

2OA6/OJ Ei ie ibe 45310

9t2s 77796

16.5 13 14,3

2070/11 Eligible 50r54 92362 L42516

3401 13215 22016

7J.6 14.3

Source: Ahamedlebbe, S.M.(2011) and Central Bank ofSri Lanka (2014)

The statistics shows that the problem has a predominant impact on female students andreflects an ever increasing trend.

Graph 01: The trend of those who failed to enter government universit ies des being eligiblestudents FalinS to Enter 6overnme.t universitie5

120000

r9a9/9o I999/OO 2OO7/OZ 2OO4/OS 2006/0? 2,r1lrr

Source: Ahamedlebbe, S.M.(2011) and Central Bank ofSri Lanka l2014l

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--.refore, more emphasis should be drawn in favour of creating job opportunities for this

=:egory while enhancing private 6ector tertiary education on emerging disciplines and streams.

',r.ny Logistics, shipping, Freight Forwarding, Exports & lmports, or Trading companies that werer-n to employ only male workers have realized the many advantages of desi8nating

;r:fessionallv quali{ied females Jor specific jobs. Documentation, marketinS, customer services,;c.ounts, lCT, are some of preferred areas for female employees. A simple case study done in the

l\EC Marit ime Campus -the pioneers in marit ime education in Sri Lanka and the Accredited-=:ning Provider in Sri Lanka for Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport iCILT) shows that

:-: ie is a reasonable female participation at undergraduate level for the Transport and Logistjcs:Eiree as shown in table 03 and that is somewhat consistent for last nine years

-:: le 03: The percentage share of female participation in BSc (Hons) Degree in Transport and

-€istics {2007-2015)

2AO7 2008 2009 2010 201r 201,2 2014 2015::nale participation as a percentage of:_iual student lntakes (%)

33 38 21, 27 1,6 3 1 29 36

-:. 'rever, the author believes that the present female participation could be (and should be)r,.:eased in consistent with the market demand that is explained in the table 02 and Graph 01.--: key impediment that revealed during various interviews with parents is that the general

:E .eption regarding logistics and transport (shipping in particular) Parents who have less?=ociation with the industry think that the carrier in shipping ends up in a ship; carrier in Logisticsi€:ns carrying or handling cargo in stores; and carrier in transport driving vehicles but nothing

:Ee. Basically, they misinterpret the technical and operational 'front end'ofthe industry There is=':ain amount of industry norms and realit ies that may have paved the way to arrive such=..lusions. For example, some of these operations are 24X7 thus night work is inevitable.--e:efore, those who have no knowledge about the diverse opportunities for day time duties in ac€-iics and transport organization wil l obviously perceive that this industry may not be suitabletr iemales. lt is therefore necessary to build general awareness in the society about how thisncrn.y really operates. The management functions that are available in the 'back end' of this=r1plicated logistics and transport operation. On the other hand the night shifts are common inna.y other industries such as health and garment manufacturing.

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Realizing the lively experience ofactivilies ihat take place in a ship isa rare opportunlty pafticularly for afemale studeni. However, girls whocome to clNEc to study Logisticsand Transport are highly privilegedto physically experience these for

They can ffeely interact with shipmasters and clarify many questionsthat any'non- sai l ing logist ic ian'may obviously have about theshipping industry. These afe somepositive factors that the parentswho seek the most lucrative cafrierpath lorthel. chlldren should know.

Sri Lanka is capable of pfoviding al lthe resources that afe fequired toteach most of Logistlcs andTranspod management moduleswithout any problem. Students neednot go overseas looking forresources or training, Therefofe thefemale candidates are mofebenefited in ihai sense due to manysocial and cultural bafr iers they

Wofiefl Logisticiats are haoing tt discassion with a Ship Captain ifl the CINEC Ship Sim lator

The most vital point here to stress is that all ofthem have been employed at very prestigious localand multinational organizations right from the graduation. Most of them are even continuingemployment in the same organization where they were placed for internships. The extended casestudy on the employment status of those who passed out from the CINEC Maritime Campusreveals that they have been employed in logistics and transport related firms such as Brandix,Fontera, Abans, Expolanka, SAGT,CICT, NYK, Hayleys, DHL, etc. tn every batch at least one studenthas left the country to take up overseas job assignments. Also every year at least one candidateleaves to a foreign country to follow full t ime Masters Degree in Logistics.

This is a very encouraging scenario but the fact remains that manV parents and school authorit iesmay not be aware of the opportunities available in the transport and logistics sector for TertiaryEducation in Sri Lanka. The traditional preference by most of parents or guardians Jor this task issecuring qualif ication in the areas of Accounting, Marketing, lCT, of general management withunsuccessful Z - Score achieved at the GCE A- level performances. The author suggests that thesnowball effect should be boosted through rapid awareness programs to bring more effectiveresults in the future.

Forums such as WILAT can play a vital role in making the required awareness in the society whichis a national duty of course.

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