First ever plenary session on gender equity in supply chain at an RHSC General Membership Meeting

The General Membership Meeting in Accra October 2023 saw its first-ever plenary session on gender equity in the history of the meeting. Moderated by the RHSC’s Hannah Pandian, the panel examined the importance of gender equity and social inclusion in supply chain.

• JSI’s Carmit Keddem painted the everyday realities of three different people with special asks from supply chains: the high school student who lives with her parents and needs family planning products, a female administrative officer wanting to break into a career in supply chain management, and a minority community member wanting more accountability from the supply chain.
• Pamela Steele of Pamela Steele Associates shared the runaway success of a pilot initiative in Kenya introducing young women to careers in logistics by way of internships, bucking tradition. She also reminded us that women working in supply chain approach female end-user needs intuitively and proactively.
• Tanya Mahajan of the Pad Project called for a re-visioning of supply chains, making the end user -- not the product -- the focus. We should ask what a woman needs, not what product we can push to her, we heard.